Those Who Stand
by AlbertG
Summary: The B5StarTrek crossover. The Armageddon Conflict continues in Chapter 26. Janeway and her crew are here. Londo has made it to Centauri Prime and so have the Minbari! The tides of war are beginning.
1. Disclaimers and comments

THOSE WHO STAND' NOTICE: THIS STORY MAY BE DISTRIBUTED FREE OF CHARGE BUT MUST NOT BE SOLD OR EXCHANGED FOR FINANCIAL RETURN IN ANY FORM. ---------------------COPYRIGHT/DISCLAIMER NOTICE----------- "Star Trek", "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", and "Star Trek: Voyager" and "Star trek: Enterprise" and all related Star Trek related material, it's characters and certain technological devices and/or references to such, from the television shows and movies, may be or are registered trademarks of, and may be or are copyrighted by Paramount Studios and whatever Corporation it may or may not be owned by. "Babylon Five", it's characters, certain technological devices and/or references to such, from the television show, past present of near future, may be or are registered trademarks of, Babylon 5, characters, names, and all related indicia are trademarks of Time Warner Entertainment Co., LP. "Forbidden Planet", its characters, certain technological devices and/or references to such from the movie, is the property of Metro Golden Mayer. None of the Studios are responsible for the content of this story. Other names and additional characters are the creation of the author who is solely responsible for them as such. THIS STATEMENT MUST ACCOMPANY THE STORY 'A UNIVERSE OF CHANGE' IF DISTRIBUTED. THIS STORY IS FREE OF CHARGE AND MAY NOT BE SOLD OR EXCHANGED FOR FINANCIAL RETURN IN ANY FORM. THIS DEDICATION MUST ACCOMPANY ANY DISTRUBUTION OF THIS STORY. Dedication: My wife Sheryl has allowed me to hide in our basement and write in relative peace, and she hasn't even extracted revenge yet. And I thank all those who have written me concerning ' A Universe of Change' and 'The Ruination Wars' saga, all of whom have inspired me to continue writing for fun the of it, because God understands that this is hard. Foreword: This is a basic summation of the first story, 'A Universe of Change'. I proposed then that the Ambassador-class Enterprise-C and the Soyuz-class starship USS Bozeman, the ship caught in the causality loop with the Enterprise-D (which kept blowing up for seventeen or so days) was part of a similar, but failed experiment. Why? I surmise that both experiments were designed by other forces to produce the same results that the Enterprise-C ultimately generated. Those powers wanted major war between the Klingons and Federation with the ultimate purpose of negating the effectiveness of both governments in the distant future. And what does that have to do with anything? Well-say 'temporal cold war' and 'Enterprise-Archer' in the same breathe and we have a clue. As we see, Archer's timeline is deviating more and more with every episode, removing itself further and further from what we know to be true. The 'cold war' is affecting everything. The interference of future beings have insured thing with the attack of the Xindi. This is book two of the joys and conflicts of the Federation's unintentional intrusion upon a universe completely unknown to them. Their interactions have caused radical changes to occur such as: The introduction of new technologies-which everybody wants. The introduction of Betazoid telepaths who have begun to affect the Psi-Corps; the destruction of the Vorlon race; the ascension of the Shadows and their capture of the Vorlon artifact lost so long ago. The survival of Sandra Hiroshi is another change, which by the way has made Commander Riker very happy. Those are just a few changes among so many. And there about to be even more intrusions from outside. Six minutes made a pronounced difference in how things shaped up in their universe and in the end, as Delenn would probably say, 'just because we are in the universe trying to shape it into our image, does not mean that it, in any fashion, chooses to be shaped. It chooses the shape it wants. Pray that it does not notice us.' But it did. The Vorlons know this as well as the Shadows. And there are others will take advantage of the altered circle. There will be those who will not survive the encounters. So it begins. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU (AT THE LEAST) READ 'A UNIVERSE OF CHANGE' FIRST. OTHERWISE YOU MIGHT HAVE TROUBLE FOLLOWING THIS: A special thanks to everyone who has helped me. This includes Major Diarrhia for technical advice and some corrections concerning my other stories. Also Mike McKinney who has contributed to this story you are reading now. His name will be featured when that chapter comes up. Luis Silva brought more things than I ever thought of and I thank him for it. And of course, Mr. Louis Miller started me on the road with the Ciona Imperixe and the expansion of my imagination. Albert Green Jr. Rating: PG-13 Contact: Albert Green: g3607273@yahoo.com and g3607273@uic.edu Date Posted November 2003 


	2. The Emissary and the Emperor

Chapter Two

********

The Emissary and the Emperor

The _Yeager_ continued its scan of surrounding space, slowly pulling away from the M-class planet.  Amazingly, the people seemed to conform to Bajoran physiology.  In fact, the entire system seemed nearly identical to its other-universe counterpart."

"Oh-Be-A-Fine-Girl-kiss-Me."

"What?" Deanna asked. She didn't understand William's statement.

"_Oh-Be-A-Fine-Girl-kiss-Me_.  That was the old style designation for the different classification of stars.  It was easier to remember than, O-B-A-F-G-K-M.  It represents star temperatures from hottest to coolest.  Even after more than three hundred years, we still use those designations. This star is a K-type, a little cooler than Earth's star and its almost exactly the same as our Bajor.   We're almost a thousand light years out and if we didn't know better, we couldn't tell the difference."

The Betazoid doctor frowned.  "But essentially Earth is identical in this universe also.  Maybe the people are different but the planetary system is the same."

"That's my point, Doctor.  It's the only one, so far, that we've found that's exactly-relatively speaking-the same as in our universe.  That in itself-"

Deanna was no longer listening to Lawson.  Instead she was focused on Captain Sisko.  He had a look on his face that she had never seen before.

"Captain?"

He wasn't listening.  Instead he was looking at the viewscreen at empty space.  "All stop."

"Answering all stop."

"We're detecting a massive increase of verteron particles directly in front of us. Sir, recommend that we move away from this area."

"No," Ben answered, just as an almost blinding light flared in front of them.  Space itself seemed to open up.  The light dimmed and front of them appeared a huge tear that seemed to open up like a the pedals of a flower."

A wormhole.

"It's beautiful."

Lawson frowned.  "It doesn't look real.  Captain?"

***

A stunned Ben Sisko found himself in the middle of his living room in his old home on Earth.  Everything was in place, the couch where he accidentally spilled his bean sauce while trying to feed his infant son Jake; his mother's picture was next to the image of his family-everything was as it should be.  But it didn't feel correct.  It was if he were in a waking dream.  Then he saw his father.

_"The Sisko is confused,"_ his father said.  _"He doesn't understand."_

"Dad?  What's happening to me?  Where am I?  I heard the call.  Why am I here?"

_"This Sisko is like the other,"_ his father said, not answering his question.   "_He insists on asking many questions.  We thought he would be different.  The Sisko is consistent."_

"Who is the other?  What is wrong with you?"

_"We have come for the Sisko,"_ another voice said. That sweet, familiar sound chilled him to his soul.  _"He must be made whole."_

"Jennifer?"

_"The Sisko must enter the Celestial temple.  Time races," _ the Jennifer image said beckoning him towards the wormhole.

"Into that thing?" he asked seeing the wormhole-like object in front of him.  "Why?"

_"The Sisko wants to return home, does he not?  The Sisko needs to be one."   _

"Jennifer."  The image in front of him, and that's what it was, looked so real.  He missed her so much that for one insane moment, he almost did as she asked.  But uncertainty stopped him.   "We all want to go home.  Are you saying that this can take us home, to our place and time?"

_"Only the Sisko.  He needs to be whole."_

Those words were said with a finality that made Ben glare at he wife's image.  "I'm not going anywhere without my people."  Another image appeared behind him and he whirled around to meet the new apparition coming face-to-face with-

-Himself.

"This is getting very tiresome," Ben growled.  "I want some straight answers now."

Ben Sisko smiled at Ben Sisko.  _"And you'll have them,"_ the other Ben said.  _"That is why I am here.  I know this is strange, but everything will become clear.  I apologize for the way we introduced ourselves to you.   "But they," his copy said, pointing to the others, "are not very good at explanations."_

"Who are they?"

_"They are aliens who built this, the Celestial temple.  This artificial wormhole is their creation.  It extends from the Alpha quadrant to the Gamma quadrant.  And further.  Against my wishes, they have been trying to contact you, to bring you back.  Only you."_

"Why only me?  What's so important about me? And who are you?"

_"I am _you_, Ben.  You _are _me, or rather a part of me." _

Captain Ben Sisko of the _Yeager_ backed away slightly.  "I don't understand," he said warily. 

_"This is not the time to be frightened, brother.  This wormhole is connected to our home universe's wormhole and much power has been expended to contact you and offer a way home.  It must close in a matter of days now or both will be damaged beyond repair.  You have a choice to make and not much time to do it, so listen very carefully,"_ the Ben image said_.  "I _am_ Benjamin Sisko of the Alpha quadrant, as are you.  But your existence is an unintentional artifact cause by the result of you entering the temporal anomaly that brought you to this universe.  There was a fracturing of time and space when you encountered the _Enterprise-C _as it came through the temporal rift.  That created the timeline that you remember and existed in.  When Picard chose to go back through with Garrett, space fractured even more creating  several additional temporal-spatial anomalies."  _

_"There were Powers that corrected most of the fractures but they were unable to re-integrate you and one other in the time allotted.  So they sent you here, at this time and this place.  This is no accident that you have wound up here, just before the assault on B5.  There were many factors for placing you here at this critical point in the universe's history.  You being here has caused tragedy, but it offers hope and a change.  Your being here may also prevent a great catastrophe from overtaking this galaxy.  The mistakes were made long ago and your being here may help to correct that error."  _

_"In the base timeline, the Federation and Klingons have joined together and become a major threat to the plans of the temporal guild of the future.  This threat could not be tolerated and they tried to destroy both governments by setting them against one another. The ultimate result is the timeline that you come from.  Those forces sent the _Enterprise-C_ back into time, creating an incident in which the Federation would be at war with the Klingons effectively breaking both organizations and blunting the future successes of both.  The_ Enterprise-C _should have returned through the temporal anomaly alone and the timeline would have corrected itself.  But now you're here, a completed fragment, if you will.  Your particular timeline no longer exists.  Forces whose purpose is to maintain balance in the multiverse purposely collapsed it.  So, now you have a choice."_

"And what is this choice?"__

_"To come home or stay here, in this universe."_

Ben Sisko looked at the other Ben, his face carefully neutral.  "Nothing is ever that simple." 

_"You're right," _Ben said looking at his other self proudly._  "There is a catch.  If you return to your home universe, you will cease to exist.  _You_ will become a part of me once more.  There are rules that govern us and the universe will not allow the fragment-you, to inhabit the same space-time as me.  You have the exact same quantum signature as I do, but originating from a universe time-space that no longer exists.  If you or any Federation-Klingon ships or personnel return, they will be re-absorbed by their original counterparts as though they had never been.  The balance will be restored and your life as you know it, will be over.   As you and your people are now, you are independent entities with free will.  If you come back…"_

"We'll be lost."

The Jennifer image moved close to Ben.  _"The Sisko must be complete.  This Sisko will not care when he is joined."_

Stunned, he realized that those words were meant to be comforting for him.  "You offer the hopelessness of non-existence versus being trapped here in this universe forever."

"Your children can return because they will be a blending of two universes and therefore unique.  But I can offer nothing for you, except to become a part of me."

"I won't go." 

Ben smiled approving of the decision.  _"Where's there life there is hope.  Live your life and remember."_

"There is so much I need to know.  What about the war?  What about the Federation and my-our father, is he still alive?"

"T_he Federation, the Klingons and the Romulans are at war with a terrible enemy.  We are holding our own, but the Cylon Empire is strong and now they're fighting for possession of the Celestial temple.  We've had other problems also, but our father and Jake and my little one is doing well on Bajor.  "_

"Jake is alive?"  There was small tear forming.  He swiftly brushed it away.  _What little one?_

"_Here_," Ben said pressing a small object into his hand.

The image of his father and wife looked on in confusion._  "The Sisko is not coming.  Why?"_

_ ***_

"It is a wormhole," Lawson confirmed to him.  "And it's stable," he said, looking at it very hard.  "But it's like nothing I've ever seen."  

"Captain?" the Betazoid repeated.

The sound of Deanna's concerned voice assaulted his ears.  It took him a second to realize that he was back on the _Yeager_.  On the view screen the wormhole flared and disappeared.

"What's wrong?  For a second I felt that-"

"There's nothing for us here," Ben whispered.  "It's a way home, but it's certain death.  I've talked to the aliens that created the celestial temple," he answered, pointing to the wormhole. "I've talked to my counterpart.  He warned me."

Lawson gave him 'the look' and Ben half-smiled in response.  It did sound crazy.   

However, Deanna had detected the short bonding.  "Concerning what?" she asked utterly convinced his experience was true.  

Ben Sisko detailed his conversation to the others and fifteen minutes later, all of them sat down in shock.

"All this happened in less than five seconds?"

"Time has little meaning to them.  But yes, it did. We are realized, independent fragments of someone else's existence, a result of the temporal fracture we went through.  But we are complete beings too physically close to the originals.  If we go back we will be re-integrated into our counterparts whether, they are alive or dead."

"My God.  Our families?"  

"We can never go back," Lawson stated flatly.  He looked off.  "We're lost."

"No," Sisko corrected.  "We are marooned.  But we are _not_ lost.  We simply haven't found the proper way home yet."  However, his gut was telling him otherwise.  "Plot a course, maximum warp.  There's nothing for us here."

***

A disheartened Captain Sisko left Williams in charge, went to his quarters and fell into a deep and fitful sleep, once again finding himself in the same dreamlike state he'd experienced earlier on the bridge.  However, instead of being in his old home, he found himself inside a massive, alien structure, a space station he surmised.  Drawn to the window, he peeked outside and saw the same wormhole blossom, allowing two starships entry.  He nodded in understanding.  Curious, he began to walk around the station's main floor.  There were hundred's of people of all species onboard.  But the far majority were Bajoran and Human.  Intrigued by this fact he began exploring his surroundings eventually making his way to the bridge itself.  There he found himself face-to-face with-himself.

_"Hello, Captain Sisko,"_ his opposite said to him.  He was dressed in a Starfleet uniform similar but not quite the same as his old uniform, which had a more severe military look to it_.  "I see you've converted to the older style of dress of Garrett's time.  Very practical_."       

Ben nodded, half expecting this meeting with his other self.  "You seem to know a lot about us."

_"I've been observing you as much as possible.  We didn't have the power to contact you directly until you were close enough to the Wormhole.  The best we could do was watch and send you indirect communications while you slept.  _His counterpart sat and he followed suit.

_The 'package' I gave you was, call it a psychic trigger, a set of memories if you will, from my past.  It is to compare what our life would have been if we had not been separated.  I did not want to leave you with questions that could never be answered.  You are a part of me and I know that we both would want resolution to this situation.  So, I have someone here you should meet."_

A young man, with a thin mustache, and as tall or a bit taller than he, moved attentively towards him.  The young man was handsome and looked just like his mother.  "Jake," he whispered, looking at his twenty-four year-old son.

_"Hello, dad,"_ his son answered.  

Behind him was his sister, Judith waiting patiently. Whether this was real or not, it didn't matter.  Instantly Ben hugged the son that could have been.  In his timeline, Jake was dead but in the other, his son was alive and apparently very well.  There was so much he wanted to know!

The Emissary moved back to allow him time with his son.  A short time later, another person, a woman entered the bridge and stood directly in front of him.  He recognized her instantly.  "Mother."  He went to hug her but stopped short as he felt the coldness radiating from her.

_"I am pleased that the Sisko fragment remembers me," _his mother said. 

She looked like his mother's image but there was something, an alien-like quality that made him somewhat wary.

_"The Sisko fragment does not want to hear what his mother has to say,"_ she said to him with the barest hint of warmth evident in her voice_.  "The truth is not always what you wish it to be.  But I am your mother, or a fragment of her.  You are not fully human, but half-Bajoran.  And you have the blood of the Prophets within you.  Your science is not advanced enough to detect what the prophets have hidden."  _Her eyes moved to the other Ben's direction and there was definitely a trace of warmth there.  "T_he Emissary's response was much like yours.  But,"_ she continued returning her attention back to him, _"You too are my son and you will not be abandoned." _

She moved closer to Ben and he did the same.  This was all so strange! Touching her hand, he felt the connection, heard the truth in her words.   "I never knew-"

Something in the woman softened as she examined her son_.  "Life has been hard for you. The truth was hidden until the Emissary could accept the words.  But you too are my son and you both are strong.  You have made your choice and it could have been no other.  My people wish that the Sisko would become one with the Emissary no matter the cost.  I do not.  My wish is that you live your life.  I wish that you would be happy."_

With loving gentleness, she touched his forehead and memories flooded into his mind.  _"Your history as it should have been. The stories of the prophets and of Bajor are all there.  Have no fear.  This will not interfere with that which you are now.  They will give you strength for the dark times to come.  There is one here who covets you, my Sisko.  He will come to join with you.  Beware!  To join him is to suffer an eternity of sorrow and pain."_

"Who is this person?  When will I meet this enemy?"

_"Time is unimportant to him as he is as timeless as the sun,"_ she cautioned him.  _"You will know him and stars will die in his passing.  Beware the Light of the Star."_

"You don't speak like the others of you kind," he whispered.

_"The Emissary, your brother, has taught me well,"_ she whispered back.  _"Remember, you are the Sisko.  We go now to search for your other lost fragment.  He will have the choice also."_

_"And one more thing,"_ his brother, the Emissary added.  _"The event that brought you here has also brought others who are now traveling to Earth.  The fracturing that brought you to this reality was a multiversal tear.  But it had consequences for only a micro-minority of sentient beings, and just about all of them, were returned to their rightful place in time.  You and the third Sisko, along with his people were trapped in yet another universes different from this one.  Like you, they have run into an Earth not their own.  The Peacekeepers united, are a formidable enemy and those Picard, Garrett and Sisko fragments have done horrible things in protecting Earth and the surrounding star systems.  Another war is beginning there."_

_"The last group was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time and pulled to this universe and this time.  Intercept them and bring them to _Babylon Five_, for their protection.  They will need your help and the survival of this universe's Earth and the other races may well depend on them in the future."_

The dream began to fade.  Faintly, he heard his mother's and his brother's final words.  _"Ben, live well."_

"Don't go!" he whispered.  But he was awake now and the connection broken.  They were gone, he knew without a doubt, forever.  But they had left something.

-A photo.  

"Computer make a copy of this photo and key it to my personal effects."  Tenderly, he looked once more at the parting gift.  His mother, father, son and his 'brother'- as he could have been.  It was his family.  He shook his head in wonder.  _It's nice to have two brothers_ he thought. 

After a moment, he punched his comms.  "Commander Williams, change course to these coordinates…"

He could feel the frown on his friend's face.   "May I ask why, Sir?"

"There's someone we have to meet," he answered cryptically.  "They are as lost as we are.  We're going to send them a beacon."  

***

Three days later in the military central command on Centauri Prime, Emperor Cartagia positively beamed.  "The plan is excellent, General Madero," he smirked.  Grabbing the plans once more, he observed them intently once more before he slammed his hand onto the table.  He had a tendency to do that when he was most pleased.  His Generals stood opposite him, please that the plans meant with his approval.  

The truth was, they were relieved that their insane leader was happy right now and that together they had forged what they hoped would be the death-knell of the Earth Alliance.  

"Excellent," he said once again.  Whatever his people thought of him, they weren't foolish enough to say it to his face or even whisper it out loud and those who did disappeared at night, never to be seen again.  That sent a chilling message to all present within the palace and throughout his world in general.  There would be no dissent unless that person or persons had a death wish.

General Madero an older male, who kept his hair short, in tight curls, allowed a small smile of his own to flash across his thin lips.  "With the Drazi colonies of Shambah III and Fendamair under siege, Earth Force must respond or a valuable ally will be lost."  The colonies, one a primary farming facility and the other an industrial-military complexes, were the lifeblood of the Drazi people, absolutely essential for their survival.  The Centauri territories almost completely surrounded the Drazi in the first place, cutting off trade and expansion for the last four hundred years; the result being that the Drazi were slowly being strangled by their hostile neighbors.  "We're threatening the colonies so overtly that the Drazi must respond with everything that they have.  So must Earth Force.  And if they do, we'll be free to attack and eliminate their main defense installation they're building at their destroyed Proxima colony."

"This analysis does have a certain validity," added General Vida, Commander of the Centauri Lightside assault force.  If they could hit and destroy the forces in Drazi space and at Proxima III, Earth Force's strategic back would be broken and they would be unable to mount an offensive strong enough to threaten Centauri forces.  It was a variation of the same strategy used against the Narn.  "But we must remember the past and what the Minbari did to them during the war and how valiantly they resisted.  They gave ground only when they were forced to and throughout, maintained that insane creed to try to bring everyone back whether they were alive or dead."  

"But they lost the war," Madero sneered. "No matter what was said about the Minbari surrendering, the Earther's victory was a lie."

"Yes, for all practical purposes, they lost the war," Vallano Confirmed.  "However the Earthers fought for every inch of ground.  They died like carrion insects, but they never gave up.  Their pride, even against insurmountable odds, kept them going.  We must be aware that they may never surrender and if they did we could never trust them."

"That is their weakness," Vida intoned smoothly.  "President Clarke's pride and paranoia will not allow him to ask the Non-Aligned worlds for help even if they could.  The Minbari are occupied with the Drakh and only _Babylon Five's_ meager forces are marginally committed to him.  If we subjugate the Drazi, then the Earth will be left on its own.  Their technology, although more advanced than the Narn, is still inferior to ours."

"True."  Cartagia knew that he may be considered, by some to be unstable, to say the least, but he was a soldier as well, and a good one at that.  He was trained by the best of the best.  He was also the only surviving heir of the late Emperor.  He made sure of that.  Most of his family had been poisoned, wound up on the wrong side of an inconvenient war or involved in some sort of fatal accident.   Sure, there were rumors that he was to blame for some of the deaths, but no one was brave enough to confront him or stop the slaughter.  They were too weak.  And the Emperor understood this, which why he needed to impart his strength to them.  The Shadows had the right idea.  Blood and conflict strengthen the populace and the people required an example so that they would once more remember who they were.  After all, a god needed strong subjects.  "So simple a plan," he stated.  "And with that simplicity, we will crush them and I will have Clarke's head on a pike, next to Sheridan's and Delenn's and those alien Captains, Picard and the woman's who dared to defy Us.  And let us not forget the Clynkon creatures." He frowned for a moment.  "Exactly how does one pronounce those loathsome creatures' name?"

"I believe that they are called Klingons, My Lord."

"Thank you. When I find these Clynkons, how they will suffer," the Emperor said, not caring in the least for the correct pronunciation.  "I will find their world and burn it to ash," he nodded, more to himself than to the others in the room.  "We will have our revenge, all in good time."  

"Their President is a fool," General Vallano said.  "He goes out of his way to denounce any 'alien' influences and now has to swallow his pride and help those same aliens, if he and his people have any chance to survive.  I wonder how he feels now?"

"Like an impotent worm," Cartagia answered haughtily. When the laughter died down, he continued, his mood darkening even as he thought about the earth station and the Federation battleships.  "They vex Us. The alien Earth ships vex Us.  Why weren't they destroyed at _Babylon Five_?"  

The answer was obvious since the attack on _Babylon Five_ three months ago had turned into a fiasco.  Nearly two-dozen heavy Centauri warships were caught between Federation, Klingons and _B5_ guns and were summarily slaughtered.  That the Centauri attacked first mattered not at all.  News had spread from one planetary government to another and the scathing rebukes, criticisms and jokes had nearly brought down the house of Cartagia the Magnificent.  The captured Narn home world received most of the Emperor's backlash.  Several small cities were incinerated as the most vocal of the Narn critics dared to voice their opinions.  They had been hunted down, their places of origins identified and eliminated by high orbital bombardment. 

The lethal object lesson did nothing to dissuade the Narns from their disrespectful attitudes and actions against the Centauri Republic.  Reports from several small convoys had proven that fact as Narn heavy cruisers and the Clynkon aliens hit any convoy that wasn't accompanied by a full combat ready escort group.  Cartagia frowned.  During the Narn-Centauri war, almost all of the Narn heavy ships had been destroyed or captured and Tactical estimated that there were less than ten Narn heavy cruisers unaccounted for.  Indeed, that might be true, since no more than seven had actually been identified in these latest attacks.  But those seven and the six smaller destroyers were different from any the Centauri had encountered before.  They were faster, much faster and their firepower seemed to have quadrupled as well as their defensive armor.  In five major strikes, only one Narn had been destroyed and the ratio had been three Vorchans to one.  And always the Clynkons were there killing his soldiers and ships with impunity.  How he despised them!

There was a plan prepared to deal with them also.  The convoy was already on its way, the trap already set.  If the Centauri military was having difficulty, then all would discover how well the Drakh dreadnaughts would do against them with their Shadow enhanced weaponry.  After all, what good were allies if you couldn't use them from time to time?

"That should be the final end of the Narn's defiance and their ally."  
  


"But it does not solve the long-term problem," Vallano said, fanning his long crest of blackish-gray hair.  "Originally, there were two Starfleet vessels, then they built another, then the Clynkons came.  How many more of these vessels will arrive unexpected into our space?"       

"We can't worry about who will or will not come." General Vido answered.  "We must concentrate on the here and now.  The Federation ships seem to be more concerned with protecting _Babylon Five_ and they can't be everywhere at once."

"Sir, the reports state that the large one called _Enterprise_ is not there, but at Proxima III.  We do not know where the small one called _Yeager_ is, but it appears that it has gone on a long journey and may not be back for some time."

"Were ships sent to follow it?"

"No, none of our ships could keep up, not with their bizarre FTL mode of travel, but we have discovered how to track their movements."

General Coddo 's distaste was evident.  Why didn't they use jump tech like everyone else?  "It is good that Earth Force does not have full access to that technology yet," he stated.  He was a small man with deadly eyes, one of those responsible for the bombardment of Narn.  "But what happens if Earth Force begin incorporating it onto all of their ships?"

"This is why we are at war with them," Cartagia responded, justifying this new conflict.  "We cannot allow Earth to become a dominant force in this sector.  The result can only be disaster for the Centauri people.  Let us destroy their capabilities while we can.  Then we will find the Federation and Clynkons and my vengeance shake the foundations of this galaxy, as befitting the god I am."

****


	3. Headaches

**_Between the light and darkness are-_**

****

**_THOSE WHO STAND_******

**                     BOOK ONE**

…maybe the Klingons will now join the rangers and the fight with the Army of Light.  

-L. Silva

..Hahahahahahahaha.  What makes you think there will _be_ an Army of Light?

-Skeet

Prelude 

****

Centauri Prime:  September 14, 2261

The Emperor was in full splendor; the dancing girls, the Nobles falling over themselves to please him, the impeding slaughter of his enemies-he was having a wonderful time.  That's when he heard the scream.  How impertinent!  This was a time of joy, of splendor; not a time for an embarrassing display of terror.  He resolved to have that person executed to remove the stain.  After all, it was only Mr. Morden, not an assassin.  

For those who knew him, Cartagia had never appeared more relieved.  Things were perilous these days.  The people didn't love him, as they should have.

"Mr. Morden, I was afraid that something had happened.  We've had difficulty trying to contact you. I-" 

The Emperor froze as he saw several Shadows appearing in full view of himself and the other guests in the room, who were now quickly vacating the room.  He would have laughed at their terrified faces if he hadn't been in semi-shock himself.  At least he now understood why the female had screamed so vociferously. The creatures moved closer to him and he took an unconscious step back.  Morden looked-the best thing that would describe him would be-well intense.

"We would like to bring our forces closer to one another, Lord Cartagia," Morden said.  

Shadow eyes glared in his direction.  The statement was a command and Cartagia recognized it as such.  He, the Emperor of the Centauri Republic, had no intentions of not obeying it. 

"EarthForce have made some modifications-we intend to do the same," Morden continued.  "Ten of your best ships and crews; send them to Z'ha'dum.  Now."  

Chapter One

January 16, 2262:

When the EAS _Nova _warship_ Napier _and an additional_ Omega_ exited the _Babylon Five_ jump gate, _Star Furies_ and two _White Stars_, primed and ready to blow it to pieces in case it was aggressive, immediately flanked it.  _Babylon Five's_ formidable weapons were also activated and locked on.  The ships had been detected six minutes before they exited the gate by the new sensors on the space station, the result of a continual exchange of technologies with the Federation ships _Enterprise-D_ and _Ambassado_r-once called the _Enterprise-C_- under the respective commands of Captains Jean-Luc Picard and Rachel Garrett. During this time of civil unrest, Earth Government and the breakaway Earth space station called _Babylon Five_ were on speaking terms now-barely.  The recent war had changed their attitude towards one another since both were in danger of attack by the Centauri and the unknown species called Drakh, dark servants of beings known as the Shadows.  Then the Shadow threat itself was of primary importance because no one, friend or foe alike had a clue as to what they were planning.   

However, despite their mutual need for one another, the so-called alliance between the station and President Clark was on a razor's edge.  As long as Sheridan controlled _Babylon Five_, Clarke felt threatened by the man's uncanny ability make friends, resist his own plans and manipulations.  And most importantly, Clarke feared Sheridan's ability to control those things around him with an ease that he as President, couldn't come close to imitating.  Initially, _B5_ wasn't a serious threat, but things had changed.  Their power base was expanding rapidly and very soon, Clarke wouldn't be able to subdue it without expending massive amounts of military equipment and personnel.  As of now, Earth Force ships were allowed in _B5_ space only under very strict conditions.  

These incoming vessels however, had not meant those requirements and were being treated accordingly.

"I repeat, remain where you are.  You are not authorized to approach _Babylon Five.  _If you continue to do so, you will be fired upon," Captain Sandra Hiroshi former Captain of the EAS Churchill and present officer in charge, announced with absolute conviction. "This is your first and last warning."

There was an immediate incoming message from the _Napier_.  

"_Babylon Five_, hold your fire.  "We're telepaths, refugees from Earth," Bester's voice yelled into the comms.  "We are here seeking asylum because we have no where else to go!"  The unmistakable twinge of bitterness in his voice came through the comms clear as crystal.

Despite the desperation in his voice, Sandra remained adamant.  She carefully watched as the _Nova_ and the _Omega_ did indeed decelerate, coming to a dead stop three thousand clicks relative to _B5's_ portside forward section.

Sandra nodded to Lieutenant Corwin who switched channels.  "_White Star_ _Two_, you're on." 

"Thanks, Control," Susan said.  Move to within a thousand meters of the ship.  I want us nose to nose.  She knew who was on the _Nova_ and it took a lot of restraint to keep from ordering her crew to lock on.  How dare the Psi-Corps come here!  "Bester, I want to know why you're back."

For some reason, Sandra expected a pause before the telepath would respond, but instead, the answer came immediately.  

"Your little stunt with your Federation underlings has caused the start of genocide of all of us," he said referring to the telepaths on Earth.  The bitterness in his voice came through so clearly that even Susan felt a moment's pity.  "President Clarke has declared war on all telepaths, especially Psi-Corps and it's all your fault.  You people are responsible." 

Sandra remembered how the Federation Starship USS _Yeager_ had traveled to Earthspace and released a telecommunication's probe that detailed every plan that Bester's mind had possessed.  The memories, ripped from his mind by his forced joining with Lieutenant Deanna Troi, created an unexpected nightmare for Psi-Corps.  The Betazoid possessed every secret Bester's mind contained, which she quickly transmitted to every other Betazoid and Vulcan onboard the _Enterprise_.  Then she told everything she knew to her Captain who recorded it all and sent the information as a gift to the citizens of Earth.  

The result was a quiet, undeclared war between Clarke's people and Psi-Corps.  

Within two weeks, Clarke's security forces came close to wiping out the entire Psi-Corps command situated on Earth.  Thousands of telepaths were rounded up, interned and a few of the more dangerous and aggressive ones were quietly executed. There were many now in hiding, terrified of what Clarke's regime would do in retaliation.  Psi Corps had purposely and arrogantly isolated themselves from the normal population and they played on that fear and intimidation each passing day.  Psi-Corps had stamped its people as being different at every possible opportunity and now that difference was as obvious as a tattoo marked on their foreheads.  They could barely function in a normal world, without running into difficulty.  During the confusion and fighting, Psi-Corps managed to obtain two _Omegas_ and one _Nova, _crammed as many of theirpeople in them as they couldand escaped for parts unknown.  Unfortunately, the unknown was too far away and too dangerous for now.  So that left one place, the only refuge that Bester dreaded, the one place he and his people could escape to.

"Despite our differences, Susan…"

"Commander Ivanova!"

"If you insist," Bester answered indifferently.  "As I was saying, despite our differences, these people I am trying to save have done nothing to you.  _Babylon Five_ extends mercy to every alien who happens to come by, but am I to understand that you can't extend this same mercy to your own people?  Think of the long term effects of this decision, Commander."

As she listened, Captain Hiroshi slumped heavily into her seat.  The man was right.  But Psi-Corps could never be trusted onboard this station.  But in reality, what could they do?

"Power down your engines and remain where you are," Susan ordered savagely.  "I'll have someone contact you with instructions-eventually."  She looked at her communications officer _and slashed at her OWN throat.  The signal was cut and now she slumped deeper into her chair. _

_'Think of the long-term effects?  I have, you jerk'_ Susan thought, hopefully loud enough for him to be able to detect it.   _'I'm not about to let nine hundred telepaths onboard this station.   They can stay right where they are'.  _

***

Now it was Bester's turn to breathe a sigh of relief.  Next to him Officer Trane, an older gray-haired man who never smiled, could feel the waves of relief coming from his fellow Psi-cop.  The woman had a personal vendetta against Bester.  That itself was not so unusual.  He rubbed a lot people the wrong way.  One of the reasons Trane tolerated the man was that he attracted attention to himself and away from the others and this allowed the others to do what was needed in secret.  

But this was one of the few places where they could do something about it; the worst place they could come to but the only place where they might be safe from Clarke.  Earth Force could have stopped them; instead, they looked the other way.  

That was the price for Bester's information.

_"I know how to get through the Federation shields. That is their weakness'_," he had impressed upon Earth Force officials who ultimately granted the fleeing telepaths access to the captured warships.  "_If you want the _Enterprise_, the _Yeager _or the_ Ambassador,_ then you need the information I have."_

The official left and returned twenty minutes later with three Generals and a Major.  

"How?" was the only word that was said by the unnamed woman General.  No one had dared to scan her. That was an unspoken deal-information for their lives.  

Bester spoke quickly while the opportunity still presented itself.  "The Federation shields are impenetrable to almost all of our weapons.  They can be overwhelmed in time, but by then, either they would have either left or they would have destroyed you."

"You're not telling us anything that we don't know," the woman snapped.  She turned to leave.  "This is over."  

This was an impatient woman he surmised.  There was no time to waste.  Bester spoke quickly.  "When those ships fire their beam weapons, they fire _through_ their defense shields and the beam's power is unaffected.  Were you aware of that?"

The General squirmed with faked indifference.  "We surmised that also.  What's you're point?"

"Federation shields are calibrated to operate on a specific frequency to allow their weapons through, but at the same time allow nothing else in.  I have the frequency that will allow Earth Force weapons to pierce those shields," he finished.  He swallowed.  "What is that worth to you?"

"No," the General countered.  "What's it worth to you?  You're giving us the Federation vessels on a silver platter.  For what?"

"Revenge," he said instantly.  Everyone-everybody that was important to him, the leadership, his fellow cops, all had laughed at him.  His felt his own people's mixture of rage and amusement at how he was treated.   

Bright green prison stripes!  That's what Sisko had forced him to wear in the prison shuttle, to his humiliation. His secrets had been ripped from him, the Psi-Corps that that action, exposed.  He hated Sheridan, Picard, Sisko, Ivanova, Deanna-all of them, but especially Deanna, who constantly preyed on his thoughts. The alien wasn't close enough to truly feel but at the same time, he felt empty.  She had somehow broken her half of the psychic bond they shared but his had been left intact.  It gnawed at him like some kind of parasitic worm crawling inside his brain.  The more he thought about it, the closer he edged towards madness.  Mind-deadening drugs might soon be his only recourse.  He would lose his telepathic ability.  That was too high a price to pay so he fought the emptiness with every fiber of his being.    

He knew the shield harmonic frequency was specifically for the _Enterprise_, not the other ships, but right now he bluffed his way around that.  His people had to get away before Clarke exterminated them all.  "The shield frequency harmonic is eight-seven-two-one-three-six-seven."

_The shield frequency harmonic is eight-seven-two-one-three-six-seven," _he had repeated to himself over and over, even making his fellow Psi-Cop Jackie, who shared the cell next to him memorize those precious numbers._  "That is their weakness," _he sent to her two months ago.  "Hit them at this harmonic you'll be able to hurt them."

"When the Shadows attacked the _Enterprise," h_e continued_, "_I scanned the minds of the engineers and pulled the frequency from their memories.  And we need ships to save as many as we can to get away from the genocide Clarke's planning."

The woman's eyes clouded slightly.  "Not all of us agree with Clarke's decision.  I have no wish to see telepaths slaughtered."  And again she was silent for a moment.  Then she handed him a small envelope.  "I can spare three ships," she announced.  "Get your people and get out using this exit corridor.  It's no guarantee that you'll make it, but it's your best shot."  

Bester had no doubts of her sincerity and that prompted him to say something that was very hard for him to say.  "Thank you."  What surprised him was that he actually believed that she was sincere.  It was a weakness, he thought.  One that he might be able to exploit once all of this was over and the time was right.

The General's eyes hardened.  "This better pan out, Mister.  Because if it doesn't, there's no place in this galaxy where I won't hunt you down and personally blow you brains out."

Bester shook his head in understanding.

"And good luck to you and your people," she added before she and her people left the room.

A surprised Bester and Trane left a few moments later.

***

Now they were here, two of three ships had made it passed the blockade, this one with nine hundred and seventy-eight men women and children, Psi-Corp's elite, now at the mercy of _Babylon Five's_ head witch, and in the other one crammed with almost fourteen hundred people.

"Captain Hiroshi, keep them on the their ship and guarded at all times," Susan ordered.  "Render aid as needed, but that's it until we straighten out this mess.  Have Garibaldi deal with Bester."

"Acknowledged _White Star Two_.  Good luck."

"Thanks, Ivanova out."   Her ship had been readying to leave when the two escaping ships had entered _B5 _space.  Turning to her Minbari navigator and translator Lennier, she gave the order.  "Let's try the warp engines in jump space this time.  Best speed to Proxima III."

The male Minbari, attaché to Delenn, bowed and instantly translated the order to the Minbari crew and the small cruiser's attached warp nacelles glowed slightly.   The ship It disappeared in a blaze of spatial distortion just as it entered the Epsilon jumpgate.

***

Star system TX seven-six:

After a two-week trip at high warp, the small Federation Starship _USS Yeager_ decelerated seventeen A.U.s distant to where the planet Bajor would be located-if they had been in their space.  Sisko was pleasantly surprised that the star system was even there.  There were so many differences between his universe and this one that most of the crew was unsure if they'd even find a star, let alone a planet in the general vicinity.     

"Slow to one quarter impulse and start a detailed scan of the area," Captain Benjamin Sisko quietly ordered.  He had never seen this area of space, but it somehow felt familiar.  "Check for anything out of the ordinary."

Lieutenant Commander Lawson Williams, Sisko's second in command nodded curtly.  "Sir, I went through this system once, in our universe; stayed there for about an hour doing a recon survey.  We did a prelim scan of Bajor and it came back sixty-five percent Cardassian life forms.  The Klingons were using that sector as a staging off point for most of their reserve forces hitting Vulcan and the Andorian territories.  Intel suspected that the Cardassians had some sort of non-aggression agreement with them.  We wanted to hit the Klingon fleet there, but couldn't get enough ships to pull it off, so the mission never got off the ground.   Last thing we needed was another front.  But the area itself was unremarkable; just like here, just like now.  I'm not detecting anything out of the ordinary.  There is an M-class planet exactly where Bajor should be-has several hundred million life forms.  I'm also detecting low orbital vessels, possibly shuttles, but no subspace or hyperspace transmissions.  It has fourteen planets including three ice-giants and eight terrestrial worlds that could be practical for limited terraforming, just like the Bajoran system back home." 

The detailed scan took an hour and during that time Ben's hearted slumped. Why was he even here?  Following dreams?  Were they that desperate to get home?  "Deanna, do you feel anything at all?" 

She shook her head once.  "There's nothing here that I can sense that's out of the ordinary."  As the newly chief psych counselor it had been on her recommendation that this operation take place.  During the sessions, the dreams that Sisko had been so vivid, she could see them even feel them in her mind.  It pointed to a calling; a sort of telepathic calling that seemed worth pursuing.  So far it had seemed a wasted effort. 

***

The Vorlon ambassador, Kosh Naranic, sat unmoving within his ship in the docking bay of _Babylon Five_ for the last two days.  The transmissions from the homeworld kept him spellbound and although he longed to join his people in the final battle, he couldn't.  He would arrive far, far too late.  His ancient enemy, the Shadows were using their most devastating weapons in the system of his homeworld, something unthinkable less than three months ago.  Two shadow planet-killers had been destroyed, but the third had gotten through and had obliterated the second, largest populated Vorlon world.  The missile barrage cracked the ancient planet's core causing the violent death of everything on and under the surface.  His people were dying and he could do nothing about it.  All the carefully laid plans, hundreds of years in the making, simply fell apart.  The Vorlon people destroyed the third Shadow cloud killer but his own planet-killers and heavy warships were now only twisted wrecks, victims of the surprise attacks by the Shadow fleets.  And there was no one to help.

The Minbari were in the mist of their own war with the Shadow-minions called the Drakh. And they were proving to be more formidable than first thought.  The Minbari were enraged and their entire Federation had been mobilized in record time.  Six of their ships-of the line had been caught and destroyed in a fight that had lasted less than a half an hour.  Several colony worlds were now desolate shells.  The Centauri, joined to the hip with the Shadows and the Drakh, were at war with Earth, Minbar and the Non-alliance worlds.  Hundred's of thousands had already died.  The Earth colony Proxima III had been destroyed.  

And _Babylon Five_ was in the middle of it all.

No, there was no aid coming to his people.  A circle thought to be unbreakable had been shattered.  A new one had formed and its radiance shined hideously in its brilliance.  The introduction of the Federation ships had brought disaster to his portion of the universe and for a moment he felt unmitigated hatred for their interference.  However the emotions faded, because he was still alive and he understood the underlying truth.   He had actually cheated the death he knew had been fated for him.  They had saved him and try as he might, he could not hate them.  There was a part of Kosh, hidden deep within his soul, which actually looked forward to the future, where once there was none.  The question was, exactly what type of future would it be?  He had no idea and filled him with dread, yet at the same time, that excited him.

His ship, a living creature created by Vorlon technology, called softly for his attention.  Kosh listened, for a moment and his hearts each skipped a beat.  He asked for confirmation and received it.  The Shadows were making a final push and the reserves were at their limit.  There was nothing that he could do.  There was no choice; his people were about to leave.

*** 

_White Star Two_ exited hyperspace, joining three EAS _Omega-_class destroyers, two additional _White Stars,_ and a host of modified Star Furies, orbiting the remains of the Proxima III colony.  The _Enterprise-D_ cruised the edge of the star system providing long-range backup in case needed.  Already, there were shuttles moving off the surface of the planet. 

The commanding officer of the EAS ships responded.  He was a short, balding male of Indian extraction.  "_White Star Two_, this is the EAS _Constantine,_ Captain Mehta speaking.   Welcome to what's left of Proxima III.  The area is secured and there are no hostile forces in the area.  So far we have found five survivors, mostly at the far edges of the colony's western perimeter." 

"Only five?"  Susan wanted to be angry, but instead she only felt sadness.  The colony was one of the first to declare its independence from Clarke's totalitarian regime.  And for its defiance, he ordered it blockaded and subdued. Then the Centauri attacked the blockading force, nearly wiping it out.  The colony was nuked and the Centauri-Terran war began.

"Confirmed.  That is all we have found so far.  We are still continuing the search, but the Centauri have planted several booby traps in orbit as well as on the surface of the planet and we must be cautious in our efforts.  President Clarke has decided to place our base of military operations here.  They chased us from our own colony and we intend to have retribution."  
  


"I'm surprised that they hadn't use their Mass drivers."

"So am I.  They used clean nukes.  Maybe they planned to use Proxima III as a base of operations themselves, but we beat them to it."

"Possibly."  But that didn't sound quite right to her.  The Centauri war machine used very specific tactics.  First they attacked and neutralized the opponents.  That's what happened here.  Then, they secured the area and moved on to the next objective.  This area wasn't secured and there were no Centauri anywhere to be seen.  This disturbed her greatly.  They were not following their usual patterns.  "When do you plan to begin operations?"

"Even as we speak Commander.  It should begin within the next two hours.  Recent events on Earth have allowed the military to respond much faster than would be ordinarily possible."

"Yes, like a lunatic President declaring martial law on our own people," she muttered.

"Please Commander," Mehta said.  "This is a time for mutual cooperation between our two forces.  This is not the time to bring up the past."

"The past is less than seven months old," she countered.  "But you are correct.  Our differences are secondary until this is over."

"Agreed.  Perhaps when time allows, might I be granted a tour of your unique ship, Commander?"

"When this is over, Captain Mehta," Susan answered in her most pleasing voice.  "I'm sure that Captain Sheridan would allow that…" 


	4. Men of War

**_Chapter Three_**

****

Men of war

"I'm starting to look like my father," John murmured.  When Sheridan, Captain and Commander of _Babylon Five_, de facto leader of the Earth Resistance, and ex-widower, looked into his mirror this morning, he decided that he didn't like what he saw.  What peered back at him was a man doing battle with stress weighty enough to drive most people mad.  One of the many negative things about stress was its ability to make one's hair grow gray far faster than it should.  He didn't like that either.  But there was something else a lot more profound aggravating him.

He never felt as alone as he did now.  

Command didn't bother him, neither did the fact that he and his people had ceded from EarthGov until Clarke's removal. The fact that what one was doing was right had gave the man a sense of peace.  But what did bother him was that he had to do it in the first place and in the process he made powerful enemies of his own people.  Then the Shadows seemed to be winning the war against the Vorlons, or so Kosh had said.  The Centauri had attacked _Babylon Five_ en mass and a new enemy calling themselves the Drakh were attacking shipping lanes in general and the Minbari in particular.  They were obviously allied with the Centauri and the Shadows. 

President Clarke's initial unwillingness to join with the other races had placed the entire Earth and its colonies in a bind.  Now there was word that the Centauri were about to step up attacks on the Drazi, who didn't have enough firepower to resist a full-scale onslaught unless they had significant support of another government.   If the Drazi fell, the others races might sue for peace with the Centauri, even though they had to know that the Centauri would never honor the agreements.  That would leave Earth alone in a war against them.  The Minbari could not be counted on for help until they straightened out their problems with the Drakh.

Then there were the Narns.  Everyday, thousands on their world were being killed by the Centauri, either by starvation or outright executions, a direct result of this war.  What was left of their military wouldn't submit and they wouldn't give up which was admirable and necessary, but the result of the defiance was the wholesale slaughter of their people.  The Centauri Emperor's intentions bordered on genocide and whether the surviving Narn vessels surrendered or not wouldn't make a difference.  There was no way he would surrender if he were in that position.  The morality of it disgusted him, but the reality of it turned his heart to steel.  Resistance was necessary.  And he knew that G'Kar would resist with every breath he had.  What bothered him the most was his betrayal by two people he had come to care for.  First there was Kosh, who he wasn't really feeling to friendly with right about now because he lied about Anne being dead and Delenn, who lied right along with Kosh.  

On the other hand he did have some powerful backup.  The Great Machine of Epsilon IV-his ace in the hole, constantly gave him silent backup support and would serve as a second line of defense if it came to that.  There was _Babylon Five _itself, all alone in the night, prepared to defend its one half million people to the death if need be. The EAS resistance warships and their crews were a small, but powerful force in their own right, now being augmented by new, advanced technology.  

Sheridan's homeforce coalition now had a force of ten _White Stars_, radical starfighters created with Minbari and Vorlon technology, now being augmented with Federation technology.  That thought brought his train of thinking back to the arrivals that literally saved _B5_ from Clarke's forces.  True, Delenn's forces would have arrived in time also but the Feds got there first.  And with their advances in replication technology and a half dozen other innovations, _Babylon Five_ was now an almost completely independent entity.  It could survive on its own without any outside support or critical supplies for years now.  That relieved a lot of burdens.  Well, that was part of a job well done and he would stand up well against those outside forces that were so excited about crushing him and his station, but it was the emotional upheaval that now threatened to tear him apart.  

It was '_her'_ on his mind now, clawing at him like some unseen leech.  Immediately he chided himself.  There was no way he should compare his wife to a leech.  She hadn't asked for this, and his love for her was still there.  Contrary to popular opinion, love didn't simply die, it lingered, always hoping that the best would happen. There had been times when he had curled into a tight ball, because he missed her so much, not knowing what had happened to her, sometimes second-guessing himself about letting her go.  _If only…_    

Quickly he finished dressing and checked in with Captain Hiroshi, who still had an hour to go before he relieved her.  Quietly he thanked God for her.  The woman was relieving an enormous amount of pressure from both he and Susan, leaving them with more time to handle the other ten thousand things that happen onboard this station.  Psi-Corps was out there requesting sanctuary and that was something that he was glad to let his people handle.  He had other things to deal with right now.  He walked to the secured sector, where his ex-dead wife's quarters were.  Turning, he quietly acknowledged the four security guards and rang the door chime to Anne's room.

"Come in."  She was expecting him.

The door opened and he walked in just as his wife came out the refresher-half naked.  He intended to avert his eyes but couldn't quite do it in time and he caught her smiling at him.  Angry at himself, he sat on the couch.  "Put something on."

"Why, is it bothering you?" she asked in a mocking innocence.  Then she grew a lot colder.  "It didn't before, John.  _I'm your wife!"_

"I don't know what you are."

"What I _am_?" she questioned.  "Am I some type of clone or some creature that's imitating your wife?"  She was almost completely irate now.  "That's what you want isn't it?  Did Delenn or Kosh tell you that I was some type of creature that-"

"I asked you this before.  Leave Delenn out of this!" 

"How can I?" she coldly responded.  "She hasn't even left us.  She's always in between us!"

Silence.  Again the conversation degenerated to the most basics of fights between husbands and wives. The silence continued for perhaps another minute.  

"You won't even let me out of these quarters.  If you want a divorce to marry that witch, then you can have it.  However, to my dying breath, I will swear that you never gave me a chance to fight for you.  I never had a chance, John.  They captured us and hooked us into those machines."  Quietly:  "I told you what they did to me, but not '_what'_ it was like.  That I left to your imaginations because I wanted to spare you the truth.  Maybe I was wrong."

There was something in her voice, something of the old Anna that he remembered.  His wife, the one that he knew, was different.  Her voice and body and even the memories were the same.  But her body language was different; the way she moved, all of her intonations that he remembered, all wrong.   Maybe this was the time to find out the whole truth.  "Talk to me, Anne.  What did they do to you?"

"I've already told you, so many, many times."  

She never even blinked as she spoke. That was something else that was so different from the woman he remembered.  "Tell me again.  Please."  At first he believed that she become evasive once more, but he was wrong.  

"John," she began.  "There are experiences humans should never be privy to.  She started shivering.  "I didn't agree with what they stood for.  They wanted me to work with them of my own free will and I refused, as did most of the others in the crew.  They could have killed us, but they chose not to.  Instead they condemned us to a hell that you-can-not imagine.  We became living CPUs in their Shadow vessels."  She sat and covered up just a bit more.  "Understand," she continued, "that any vessel larger than a fighter require living sentient beings to be used as the main operating systems. The larger the ship, the more people are needed to control the systems.  Some of their battleships require two, even three units in order to function properly.  They burn out quickly, you understand."

John frowned at her.  "You're talking about people, not computer chips."

"You wanted me to explain," she protested.  "I'm sorry if you don't like the way I'm doing it!"  

The anger was very evident and again John was struck with the difference between what he remembered and what faced him.  "I'm sorry," he answered.  "Please continue."

Instantly, she calmed down-or seemed to.  "Their ships are organic, their technology is organic and their connections are organic…"

Sheridan didn't like the implications or the images it produced.  "You never really explained since you've been here.  What did they do to you, Anne?"

There was a slight hesitation, maybe a trace of fear in her eyes.  "I was taken inside the ship, into the main nervous junction."  She trembled slightly, as though reliving the experiences as she spoke of them.  She looked at him with her oh, so sorrowful eyes and continued.  "When you're in a shadow ship, you have to be careful what you brush up against.  Their organic tissue is fatal to most organisms and a wrong touch can instantly drain all the electrical and life energies from the human body.  In the nerve center of the ship I was assigned to, I was attached to the main ganglion plexus.  You saw the scar in the back of my neck," the woman forbiddingly whispered.  "The ship joined with me, John.  The vessels central plexus nerve tip, think of it as a kind of stinger dissolved a part of my skull and entered my brain."  She shivered again, this time more violently.  "You can't imagine the pain, the terror, or the absolute madness of what it did to me. The nerve split into a thousand parts and clustered itself inside my brain.  There was itching, John, so bad that all I wanted to do was scream and die.  But it wouldn't let me."  She shivered.

So did he.

"I was paralyzed," she continued.  "It made me endure everything.  Some part of me remembered that the brain supposedly had no feelings, but it didn't matter, not then.  I was just responding to its nerves testing me, evaluating my efficiency, my worthiness.  It lasted forever."

Continuing:  "Eventually, I became one with the ship and listened day upon day as it whispered its dark secrets into my mind.  It never let me rest; it fought my memories, my love for you.  It wanted me to love it.  It wanted me to be first in its life.  It fed me and taught me how to work its systems and how to enjoy killing.  It showed me wonders that you could never imagine.  I have seen and manipulated hyperspace in ways that would enrapture your soul.  To be a part a Shadow _'Nasshi' _is to experience what it must be like to touch the helm of God.  As she spoke, John could see her eyes light up with the remembrance of the experiences.  There is a saying that no one ever comes back from Z'ha'dum the same.  It's true.  But I did come back.  I don't know what our lives will be like, but remembered what I lost.  I want that back, John."

John sat speechless and as she cautiously held out her hand towards him.  He took it and was once again surprised by how familiar it felt.  The body remembered.  _Delenn,_ he thought.  _What have we done?  No matter what's was said and done, she is my wife.  Can I abandon her?_

"We have to know more about the Shadows, Anne," he said quietly.  "I need to know if there is any way to avert a war with them.  So, I'll ask you again.  Will you allow a telepath to scan you?"

She flushed, pulling away from him and for the first time attempted to cover her exposed shoulders.  "I can't.  I won't.  We-I will not be subjected to those creature's probes.  I'll never let that happen to me again, not from the Shadows or any telepath."

Her husband caught the inference.  "_We_?"

"I'm sorry," she explained.  "Part of me still associates with the ship.  Even now, I don't feel completely comfortable thinking of myself as an individual."

"Anna, we need to know what the Shadows are planning and so far you're the only break we've had to get an idea of how they really think.  A scan can give us the information that we need to defend ourselves against them."

"Psi-Corps is not you friend," she said flatly.  "You can never trust a telepath.  Not ours, or theirs on the Federation battleships ships.  But that's not the point, is it?" Anne asked.  Now she was analyzing him.  "This is indeed a matter of trust.  You believe that a scan will help determine if I can be trusted."

"That is a small part of it," he admitted.  "But it's more than that-"

"I understand," she said cutting him off.   "But you've got to understand that trust goes both ways.  I came to you because you're the most important thing in my life and I find you here pinning away for Delenn, a member of a race that nearly destroyed our people.  And I see you can't even decide whether to call me Anne or Anna.  No," she nodded.  "I will not submit to a scan," she said turning away from him making it clear that this little talk was over.

Now, she reminded him of the old Anna, stubborn as ever.  He got up to leave.  "I'll be back."

"Take your time," she answered.  "Tell Delenn I said hello."

Just before the door closed, John could have sworn that he could hear a muffled sob come from behind.

***

_There are those who would say that there is no such thing as a soul, but Anne Sheridan would strongly disagree.  She remembered vaguely, what it was like to have an untampered one.  She also remembered what it was like to have it shredded and torn into a thousand pieces, shifted and minced into powder by a lifeforce that considered her something to be consumed.  It could not use her in her natural form, so it remade her.  It sifted through her memories, discovered that she was an emotional creature and began to rebuild her into something that it could use.  First it made her love it-_

_-And after that it drove her completely mad so that it could control her cerebral functions in without opposition._

The door close and the woman called Anna Sheridan didn't move for a long time, but her spirit soared.   The man called John Sheridan had been scarred by a love that no longer existed within her.  There was no love within to give him, because it had become polluted, tainted by a sinister thing that would allow no other love before it.  The  _'Nasshi'_ had made sure of that with its whispers of unmitigated terror and absolute seduction. 

In future historical commentaries, there would be intense speculation by many that her soul-if you believed in such a thing-warred against itself, and that deep down, she did love John and it was that love which changed the course of their history.  But those same people would be wrong.  They completely misunderstood who and what Anne Sheridan had become.  Anne was dead.  This woman was simply a recreation made in her image and totally dedicated to the distraction and eventual destruction of John and Delenn along, with everything that they held dear.  

And she would do it by telling the absolute truth, because sometimes the complete truth is the greatest lie of all.

***      

****

Visibly shaken, John left the area and was met by a concerned Michael Garibaldi next to the lift.  He knew that Michael would say nothing until he brought it up.  That this conversation would have to occur sometime and right now, he needed someone to talk to.

"She said no."

Michael simply shrugged.  "But that was kind of expected.  She's been saying no since she got here.  But do you think what she told us has been the truth?"

"Yeah," he sighed.   "I believe she's been honest about everything, except how she got away.  But I won't press her on that yet.  Michael, she was crying when I left her."  He couldn't help but look depressed when he said that.

"John," Michael said softly, as they entered the lift.  "I don't know what to say."

He nodded slowly, not knowing what else to say either.  

"But she hasn't done anything since she's been here and we've triple checked her.  She's not accompanied by anything, if you know what I mean.  And unless the Shadows have some hidden device that none of our or Picard's people can detect, she's clean.  There's no legitimate reason to keep her under lock and key.  People are starting to talk."  Garibaldi moved closer.  "She's one of the few people to escape from Shadow control and that makes her somewhat of a hero around here."

"I know that, but something's not right here.  That woman is not the woman I married," he said, throwing his hands into the air, in a helpless, futile gesture."

"But she _is_ Anne," Michael countered.  "I don't know what she went through while she was locked inside a shadow ship being used like some kind of a calculator, but that experience would have changed anybody.  If you don't love her, fine, then tell her.  But she does need our help and she came to you to get it.  We can't send her back to Earth and she's not safe anywhere else so we're stuck with her."

The lift opened and both men walked towards C'n'C'.   For perhaps a minute, John couldn't bring himself to say anything.  Finally he spoke.  "I'll lift her quarantine, but I want her guarded at all times."

"That's a given." 

Changing the subject:  I've been meaning to ask you.  How did the date with Deanna go?"

"She's a doctor, Captain," he answered as though that explained it all.  The 'date' had lasted three long, wonderful hours before she headed off to regions unknown.  And the fact that she was a Doctor did nothing to keep the smile out of his voice.

The secured doors opened and Captain Hiroshi bowed slightly.  

"I must say that these new uniforms fit very nice," she said. "I see now why you changed over.  It does give a sense of freedom until all of this is over."

"Yes, it does.  I heard about the telepaths," he said impressed by her handling of the matter.

"Thank you sir.  But we still don't have a place to keep them.  Most of Psi-Corps' senior officers are onboard.  There is no way we want them onboard _B5_.  But where can we put them?"

John's eyebrows rose up in amusement.  "I have an idea, but I need to make a call first."  The smile that grew on his face reeked of deviousness.   I'm sure Zathras can be very accommodating."

Michael began laughing.  "I bet they are going to just love that!" 

"Now, how are the preparations for the _Alexander_ and the _Hamato_ coming?" he said changing the subject.

"They've all gone through their final checks and are ready to leave," Sandra replied.  The polarized plating and updated sensors refit phase is completed. The main lasers have been replaced with twin phased canons.  And everything forward the rotating section has gravity plating."  

The refitting process had taken almost two weeks, giving Major Edward Ryan and the crews of the _Alexander,_ the _Hamato_ and three other vessels, time for a crash course in polarized and phased weapons technology instruction.  The overall effect was that the upgraded EAS _Omega_ ship was now four times as lethal as any other ship of its class.  Propulsion remained the same, for now.  But the ships fighter support was now complimented with three-dozen of the new SA-26B _Thunderbolt_ Star Furies, made possible by the Federation industrial-sized replicators onboard _Babylon-Five_.  The crew had undergone ten hours of simulated training and twelve hours in actual flight training.  The fighter's layout was specifically designed to essentially mimic the SA-26A's cockpit so that the pilots wouldn't have relearn from scratch. 

Needless to say, they were overjoyed at the response and performances of the hottest fighter in Earth defense history. 

-Which incidentally was the exact same thing that Earth Force was saying about the stolen fighter brought in by Lieutenant Commander Gerald Higgins formally of the EAS _Churchill_.)

"Patch me through to the Major."

A few moments later, Major Ryan appeared onscreen.  "Captain Sheridan.  We're just about ready to join the rest of the fleet at Zero-Delta."

"Good hunting, _Alexander_."   He watched as a grim-faced Ryan actually smirked, then cut communications.  inside the new upgrade, months of stress seem to have been lifted from him.

The three of them watched as the _Alexander_, _Hamato, _and three smaller vessels exited through the jump gate.  

"I hope this is a good idea splitting our forces like this.  Clarke might consider this the perfect time to pull a double cross."

Sheridan shook his head in disagreement.  "I don't think so, Michael," Sheridan countered.  "The Centauri technology is more advance than ours and they've been fighting a lot more than we have lately.  " If they come in force, we will barely be able to hold our own against them."  

"Especially, since the only thing we've been shooting at is each other for the last few months," murmured an angry Garibaldi.  "But I have to agree with you.  EarthGov has managed to antagonize just about everybody.  Most of the other races may offer some type of support, if they can.  The Centauri are being aggressive to everybody right now, but only the Drazi has enough real firepower to support us.  If they fall-"

"That's exactly correct," Sheridan confirmed.  Also, Clarke's forces are tied up in supporting the colony worlds, keeping them from revolting and coming over to our side.  The instant he lets his guard down, he'll start losing people, materiel and valuable resources.  If that happens his government will bleed to death from a thousand small cuts.  It's a shame that the Minbari are tied up.

"And so are the Vorlons."

"As if they'd help in the first place," Sandra added.

Sheridan nodded again, this time in affirmation.  "We won't be able to handle the Centauri and the Drakh if they both decide to attack us.  No, I don't think that Clarke will turn on us even if he wanted to."

"Not yet."


	5. One Enemy at a Time

**_Chapter 4_**

**One Enemy at a Time**

Proxima III:

Thirty EAS warships and their support ships exited the multiple jump points created in the Proxima system slowly began establishing their stationary orbits, joining the other forty ships already present.  Thirty troop carriers with nearly a hundred thousand soldiers had already landed near the former colony, securing the area and establishing fortifications.  Colonel Paul Griffin, Second in command of the Defense expedition and the rest of the crew onboard the EAS Evanston watched in awe as the largest collection of battleships since the Defense-of-the-line moved into formation.  

"Impressive sight," General Pickett said.  The short, sandy-haired man in his early fifties turned and beckoned Paul to follow him to his quarters. 

The Colonel closed the door behind him and sat opposite the General.  "Things have changed, sir.  A few weeks ago, the government was on the brink of collapse," he said softly enough to make sure no one else could hear. "

"Don't worry, Paul.  I've had this place searched twice.  We can talk."

"Good, sir."

"Between the Psi-Corps purge and our President's policy on aliens, I'm a little surprised myself.  But this war changes everything.   We now have a legitimate war that everybody can stand behind and our Government is milking if for all it's worth.  All of a sudden everybody loves the President and he can do everything he wants.  He'll have more control than ever.  And this Ministry of Peace crap, overseeing our every move…"

"We'll have to worry about that later.  Right now I'm not sure if we can handle the Centauri, even with the force we have here."  

He and every Earth Officer knew the Centauri had the advantage of superior firepower and overall speed of their ships.  Tactically, their _Vorchans_ could outrun and out maneuver Earth Force ships.  And the _Primus_ cruisers, although slower, were heavily armed with particle weapons that could cut just about any other ship known, into pieces.  Combined with almost a thousand years of practice in space combat and tactics meant that Earth and its allies were in dire straits.

_But then that was why_ Shatterfist _were here_, he mused.  

The heavy plasma canons, originally developed to hit and destroy the Federation Starships, were now about to be used to defend the Proxima star system.  

There was a collective humiliation enveloping the entire Earth Force when the colony had been lost.  The first embarrassment was the forced occupation of a human civilian colony by order of EarthGov.  The second was the loss of that same colony and its millions when the same blockade force was forced to retreat leaving helpless men women and children helpless.  That was a stain every solider in Earth Force had felt.   

"It'll be tough, no doubt," the General continued.  "Their fighters can outturn ours.  The only real advantage we have is that they don't have Minbari stealth technology," he said in exasperation, laughing at the irony.  "But we learned a lot from the Minbari war and we can still hit them hard.  They're about to reap the whirlwind, as my grandfather used to say.  Sneak attacks pisses off humans.  That's something that they're about to learn.  Shaking his head in frustration: "I wish we had gotten Higgins's fighter sooner!"  Pickett growled.  

The innovations, from the compact nuclear reactor to the target acquisitions, to the hull plating…there wasn't enough time to really sufficiently study and start reproducing them.  But he also concerned about what would happen next.

In the distance he could barely pick out the Federation vessel's position. "The more I see of them," he continued, "the less I like it.  We may, and I stress, may win this war, but what happens when the Federation decides to move in?  We'll be weakened and won't be able to withstand their strikes."

"Sir," Griffin said carefully.  "I don't believe that Picard's people will attack us.  They're trapped here in this universe with no place to go and no way to get back."

"Alternate universe?"  The General smirked.  "You really believe that?" He snorted loudly.  "I have seen a lot of things in my time but I can't accept that.  I can only see the evidence and it says otherwise."

The Colonel knew exactly what evidence the General was referring to.  The _Ganymede II_ had found the remains of the Klingon derelict at the far edges of explored space.  Even now, the explore vessel was on its way back with a treasure trove of artifacts and information.  It would take years to properly exploit the technology.  Already, they were breaking it down and sending squirts of data back to EarthGov.  They caught a break with the subspace transmitter-receiver that had remained mostly intact.  And the hand disruptor had pointed weapons R&D in entirely new directions.

"The derelict doesn't prove that they are not from another reality.  In fact, it presents strong evidence that they're from _this_ universe and that they are lying.  We need to find out where they are before they decide on a course of action against us."

"With all due respect, sir, I don't agree.  This may indeed be evidence that they are lying to us, but we also don't have all the pieces yet.  The evidence I've seen onboard the _Ambassador_ has almost convinced me of their sincerity.  Sir," he continued, "my gut suggests that they are telling the truth."

Pickett cocked his eyes towards the younger Colonel.  "I saw the padd," he retorted.  Captain James T. Kirk.  Yes," he conceded.  "You do look like him, except for the sideburns and the obvious hair transplant.  But all those exploits attributed to one man and his crew?  I don't think so, especially the so-called Voyager probe mission.  A self-aware, organic machine the size of Texas and Nevada?  The whale mission?  Ludicrous!  Lets' not forget the forging of the Federation-Klingon treaty which actually makes them more allies rather than enemies.  Please!  No man can do all those things."  Clearly, the General and half of Earth Force had studied the data padd, indeed had almost memorized it because of seeing it so many times.

"Sir, it could be a fake," he conceded.  

"But you believed it, don't you Paul?"

"Yes sir," came the firm answer.

"Why?"

"Because when I see a that image of this Captain Kirk, I see myself coming to many of the same conclusions that _he_ made.  He doesn't have my personality, but he does have the same psychological makeup; that much is clear," he finished.  He could feel it.  The basic personality traits _were_ there.  "The files are to detailed and there were other things, Sir.  And Sir, the _Ambassador_ is _less _advanced than the _Enterprise_.  Everything is far to detailed to be a fabrication."

A smallish Federation vessel, a Runabout,they called it, flashed past the window, and the General tracked it with hooded eyes.  "Look at that," he said, pointing to the rapidly vanishing starcraft heading directly for the equally alien _White Star_ commanded by Commander Ivanova.  "That ship shouldn't even be able to move at all!"

The sight of the small vessel had also enraptured Griffin, as well.  "Those glowing red coils are a part of the impulse drives. They use an advanced form of magnetoplasmadynamic thrust.  The magnetic and electric fields provide the ship's movements."

"And you learned this where?"

"I asked them when I was onboard the _Ambassador_," he said with a hint of amusement.  "It's in my report sir.  That information was unclassified."

The General softened, and then hardened once more.  He had forgotten that potion of the report submitted by Brindley and the others including Griffin.  "That's exactly my point, Paul.  These people are dangerous.  If I had my way I'd take that ship out right now, while we had the opportunity and the manpower."

Griffin stiffened as it was made clear that his Commander was seriously considering that option right here, right now.

"Sir, if we tried that," he said attempting to convince Pickett that was also mulling over the possibilities.  "They could wipe out half the fleet with their long distance torpedoes before we could even get into firing range.  As you know, the _Pournelle_ was hit by two of them and that blast was equal to an eighty megaton nuclear strike!  One two-megaton strike directly against the hull of an EAS ship or even a Minbari warship is sufficient to vaporize it.  If they decide to attack us, at the FTL speeds of their torpedoes, we wouldn't even realize that we were dead until long after we were vapor.  Sir, their shuttle weaponry can cripple or obliterate an _Omega_ and their screens would protect them from any defensive response-if we could even hit them."

The general frowned even more.  His subordinate was correct.  "Earth alliance have colonies on over two dozen worlds in fourteen solar systems.  I don't know how big their Federation-of it exists-is, but I believed that we just might have been able to hold our own against them once we discovered their existence and had a chance to study their technology.  Then this Centauri mess started up.  If they attack us now, we wouldn't have a chance."  He rubbed his forehead.  "But our time will come."

Griffin was dubious at best.  He believed that the Federation did exist, but as they had told him, in another universe.  They weren't coming here.  And if they did, Earth wouldn't stand a chance against them on their own.  The General was full of false bravado, but he knew better.  The Minbari war had proven just how weak Earth really was when facing off against a superior enemy.  "Sir, it's true.  Our military forces are far stronger than they were thirteen years ago but we do not have the technical resources to deal with another war of that magnitude.  This war with the Centauri will push us to the limit and with our stance on the colonies…"

Intraship comms beeped.  "General to the bridge."

Immediately both officers left towards the command center.

Pickett rubbed his forehead as they approached the bridge.  "The Warlock program is off the ground and it will put us on an even par with just about everybody.  Our time will come and we will deal with this Federation also, if it comes to that."

"Sir, with all due respect, I hope not," Griffin responded," as they stepped into the transport tube.  Sighing, both men left the comfort of the rotational section and headed towards the gravity-free bridge section.  As the entered, the General froze.  Captain Drake was brick-faced red with anger and fear.  

On the captain's chair lay a basket of fruit; and a note, which read: _To the Captains of the EAS with my compliments. Jean-Luc Picard._

The radio officer was latterly overwhelmed as comms traffic was chocked with voices.  Evidently most of the larger ships had received similar baskets on their own bridges.  

The wrapped basket floated gently in zero g .  And a sober Paul Griffin watched silently at the emotional battle raging in front of him.  Captain Drake was torn between slamming the basket into the nearest bulkhead or firing a nuclear missile at the _Enterprise _with the words _Thank You, you s.o.b., _ painted on the warhead. 

"Their targeting computers are quite precise," mumbled a subdued General Pickett. He understood the message carried by the fruit.  It could have just as easily been a nuke resting on the chair instead of apples and oranges.

"He must be thinking along the same ideas as us," Griffin said dryly while looking at a completely intimidated Drake.  Even now he was still chaffing from his disastrous encounter with the Federation Starships months ago.  He lost the fight at _B5_ decisively and his command was almost obliterated.  The man still harbored hatred for Picard and the rest of them and this little incident didn't help matters as far as he was concerned. And he knew Picard wouldn't care in the slightest.  As for himself, Griffin was glad for the little demonstration that would serve to keep his people from doing something stupid.  

"I suggest we deal with Picard, Garrett and the rest later," he softly suggested to the general.  "As for me, I'm glad that they're not shooting at us."

"The General, after a moment nodded his head-once.  "I agree," he whispered.  "For now."

The _Runabout_ they'd been watching suddenly flashed out of sight.  Instantaneously, another flashed appeared in the area of the _Enterprise-D_.

"The shuttle just made a micro jump to the _Enterprise_," a scanners officer called out. As per orders, the man had never taken his eyes of the starship since he had been on duty.  "I couldn't detect any time separation between the time they jumped and then re-entered normal space."  Nearby, two more flashes appeared near the starship.  "Sir, the Fed ship's energy signature just shot up by a factor of twenty."

"Put it on the main viewer."

The screen presented a computer representation of the _Enterprise_ and its energy shield surrounding it.  

"We're being hailed."

"Onscreen," Drake snapped.  Griffin and Pickett said nothing as Drake coldly acknowledged Picard.

"Our subspace probes and scans have detected a large body of ships heading towards Proxima III."  His face disappeared, replaced by a three dimensional image of the incoming targets.  The probes, placed in strategic positions around the system, themselves had been re-configured to detect moments in hyperspace.  The _Runabouts_ monitoring the probes had just hightailed it back to the safety of the home system. 

The crews of every ship that received the transmissions were shocked at the size of the fleet coming to engage them, almost as much as their realization that the Federation ships could indeed track objects in hyperspace.  Many of the figurations silhouetted were conclusively Centauri.  But there were other ships as well including one fourteen kilometer long behemoth, slowing down even now in hyperspace to disgorge an additional dozen ships to add to the already huge battle fleet.   

Recovering quickly, the EAS crews began fast and furious preparations for the battle dropping into their laps.  Captain Drake's shocked expression quickly turned into fierce determination. 

"It'll three to one odds and we were almost completely caught off guard.  We haven't even completed our defenses yet.  My God, if they had jumped without us knowing, we-"

"Less analysis, Drake," Griffin said, irritated by the man's need to talk while preparing to do what he was trained for.  "This is not the time!  Order the fleet to prepare."

"Launch everything!"  The General's face flushed with relief by the advanced warning.  They now had a whole twelve minutes.  And this time they wouldn't run.

Fighters began launching and the crews onboard the capital ships and those soldiers on Proxima III rushed to defend themselves.  _Novas_ begin to move into defensive positions supported by _Hyperions_ and the smaller EAS gunboats.

"Sir, according to the scans, they appear to be setting up to attack us in two waves, with the second wave flanking us.  At first, it'll be just about one–to-one odds.  And then, we'll be between the hammer and anvil."

"ETA of our other twelve ships will be three hours, ten minutes."  W_hich may be far too late, _Drake added silently_._

Behind him Griffin and Pickett apparently agreed.   "We'll have to cut them down as soon as they exit their jump points.  They won't expect it and we will have the advantage of the first strike."  He looked the others squarely in their eyes.  "We'll need every advantage we can get."

Next:  'Bait'  


	6. Bait

**Chapter Five**

****

**_    Bait_**

A rigid Captain Picard stood in front of the view-screen, arms folded, intently watching the tactical display as four _Runabouts_, two _White Stars_ and the five resistance EAS warships formed a loose cluster around the _Enterprise-D_.  Tactical analysis from Data and Yar, predicted the enemy would have to strike against EAS forces at a prescribed point, exiting far enough to quickly and properly organize the attack, yet close enough to take the enemy by surprise.  The five EAS resistance ships included two _Hyperions_, two _Novas_ and an _Omega_ class destroyer and their compliment of fighters, now painted white and gold to help distinguish them from their loyalist brethren.  The capital ships and many of the fighters had not yet undergone the full upgrading process, but they had received several gifts such as subspace communications and four compatible, first generation, spatial charges, with upgraded propulsion.  The capital ships possessed three-dozen high-speed, first generation photonic torpedoes with warheads delivering forty-five megatons worth of punch per missile.  

As much as he preferred that the EAS not to take advantage of the situation, he wasn't foolish enough leave his forces separated.  If any of them were damaged, he was sure that the temptation to 'liberate' one or more of the resistance ships would be too strong to ignore.  The idea of a _White Star_ or the _Enterprise_ falling into Clarke's hands gave him pause.

Standing next to and just behind Picard, Commander Riker bellowed the last of his orders in preparation for the latest engagement.  Behind him, Lieutenant Yar was finishing her own preparations, nodding quickly as she finished.  He in turned nodded to Picard.

"Sir, General Pickett is on line.  He's plotted the most probable exit points and they are relaying the coordinates to us.  They are respectfully requesting that we be held in reserve, to plug up any holes that will occur."

"Acknowledged, Number one.  Keep the channel to the _Evanston_ open," he added.  "I want our allies to be informed of what's happening.  Order our _Runabouts_ to back off by ten million kilometers.  And I want to speak to Commander Ivanova and Captain Chamberlain."

A few seconds later: "Ivanova here."

Captain Chamberlain appeared on the split screen a moment later.  

"I would like for your two groups to vector away from us at forty degree angles to maximize our effectiveness.   We will serve as the anchor for the Earth Alliance.

"Understood, Captain Picard," Susan answered.  "I would suggest that the _White Stars_ and Chamberlains squadron wait in hyperspace until the proper signal is given."

Picard immediately agreed, understanding that their tactics were tailored for those types of vessels.  Changing the plan slightly, the _Enterprise_ and the _Runabouts_ moved away at warp four to a distance two minutes from their original position.  When the battle began, the _Runabouts_ would run escort for the resistance EAS warships.

Riker, talking softly to Lieutenant Tasha Yar, ordered a more detailed analysis of the suspected Drakh ships slowing converging on the spot where the Federation starship had been only a few moments earlier.  

"I see they want to have a go at us.  Obviously the Centauri don't have a desire to get pasted again."

"I believe, Number one, that their intelligence is better this time," Picard said dryly.  "They know what they're up against.  I'm betting that these new ships are the heavy hitters. They know that the _Vorchans_ are no match for us, even with their speed and agility."

"And their _Primus_ battleship's shields are almost useless," Tasha added.  "Even with all of their armor, the shields they're projecting are little better than our navigational deflectors.  Our phasers and photon torpedoes-"

"We've had good luck so far, Lieutenant," he cautioned.  "I don't want us to become over-confident," Riker said cutting the conversation off for the benefit of the _Evanston_, who was still on visual.  "Remember what happened when we encountered the Shadow vessel."

Picard's mood darkened considerably.  He had been caught unawares of the deadliness of its weapons capability and hyperspace phasing abilities.  Since that attack, all three Federation crews, the Klingons and _B5_ tech support had worked hard to counter the threat.  Shield frequencies and been modified to better resist their beam weapon.  It would take a sustained five-second burst from a Shadow ray could collapse a starship's shields and slice the ship in half.  However, Federation phasers could easily produce exactly the same result on Shadow Battle crabs, as they were called, armor.  And the deflector's graviton pulses could effectively neutralize the Shadow's ability to initiate hyperspace phasing.  That gave him a little satisfaction.  

Data tuned from his position and addressed the Captain.  "Judging from the positioning of the Centauri and Drakh vessels and the fact that they do not seem to be initiating an attack.  Judging by their relative inactivity at this point in time, I believe that they will hold off their attack for the time being. " 

"Why?" Tasha asked curiously.  "They're less than five minutes away.  This would be a perfect time unless-"

"They are waiting for something," Data finished for her.  "You are correct, Lieutenant.  The next squadron of Earth Alliance vessels is scheduled to arrive in two hours twelve minutes.  It is quite possible that they may be waiting for all of the EarthForce ships to congregate in one area before they begin their attack.  They may not be aware that we are monitoring their movements in hyperspace and that we are preparing for them.  If this supposition is correct, then the revised estimate for them to begin their attack is approximately two hours, twenty-four minutes.  This estimation," Data continued, "also takes into account the deceleration of the arriving vessels and their relative deployment in the fleet." 

Tasha nodded in understanding.  "So unless they do a recon in normal space, they have no idea that we're waiting for them.  And they don't dare perform one right now unless they want to give up the element of surprise."

"Logically, they will perform a fast scan of the area before they begin-if we allow them to."

"As soon as the rest of the ships arrive," Picard finished.

The EAS stepped up patrols significantly to discourage any last minute scans.

***

In spite of himself, the scene of the Enterprise bridge crew being playing out in front of him on the viewscreen fascinated Captain Drake.  His assumption about Picard being a micro-manager was wrong.  And the alien called Data was amazing.  Never had he seen hands that moved so swiftly across consoles.  For a moment, he believed that the alien was putting on show for his benefit.

"Captain Picard?"

"Yes Captain Drake?"

"May I ask what species Lieutenant Commander Data is?  I've never seen anyone quite like him."

He saw Picard give his permission to Data to answer the question.

"Captain Drake," Data said unemotionally.  "I am an android."

"Data," he said, understanding the significance.  The name fit and chided himself for not thinking the obvious.  There were so many discoveries coming from these people that lately his mind was becoming numb with each new revelation.  The Data robot seemed so naturally a part of a living crew that it had never occurred to him that it was a mechanical entity.  This was something new from him to adjust to.  Picard was an adversary, misunderstandings or not; and President Clarke's mandate was clear.  Right now they were _allies_ he snorted.  But when this was over, everyone knew that EarthForce command would issue orders to apprehend or destroy the _Enterprise, Ambassador, _the_ Yeager_, and the Klingon vessel before the other races got access to the secrets onboard. 

But what was interesting, he noted with some personal distain, was his slow change in attitude as time distanced itself form the debacle of _B5_.  Whether they were from some alternate reality-absurd!- or most likely from a distant, unknown and forgotten colony was irreverent.  Unlike Sheridan, these people were not traitors, but rather distant cousins caught up in their mess.  He didn't consider the aliens onboard as part of the equation.  Many in Earth-Dome considered Picard and Garrett to be under alien influence.  Those opinions, coming from so many armchair Generals were shortsighted at best and disaster-prone at worst.  He had since changed his opinion on that.  That change had brought about other questions.  Secretly, he was intensely curious as to how the crew's relationship to it was.  His natural prejudice towards Picard was as strong as ever but his natural inquisitiveness pushed him to explore those questions and the Fed ship just for the joy of it.  

One day, when this was over and relations improved, if ever, he might just ask.  But his priority here and now was to make sure that he and his crew survived the next few hours.  But then the question was what would happen next?

***

Eight Centauri cargo ships moved slowly to their exit point deep in the Centauri-held territory, escorted by four warships, something unheard of until recently.  Captain Conda Risse couldn't decide if he should be elated or terrified by this gracious honor.  Escort vessels, three _Vorchans_ and a modified man-o-war _Primus_ crisscrossed his route constantly on high alert, waiting for the Narn pirates and their alien ally.  

Conda's nerves were frayed and he feared for his life, escorts or not.  Three previous convoys, along with their protection had been attacked then butchered by the hated Narns.  Two more had been seriously damaged.  Logically he understood perfectly well that the Narn were a defeated people but yet now they were fighting with a renewed vigor.  And that was something he couldn't understand.  That was not part of their psychological personality traits.  Once defeated, they usually remained docile provided that they were presented with the correct incentives to keep from angering their masters.   They were nothing.   But with this new ally helping them, they were now something to be feared.  And most importantly he hated being what amount to being bait.  Bait had a tendency to be killed in the line of duty.  The only thing that kept him reasonably stroke-free was that hyperspace attacks were rare.  But soon he would be ordered into normal space.

- As bait. 

Drazi cruisers, desperate to stave off the Centauri advance often attempted lightening attacks in an effort to destroy or cripple a freighter, anything to slow his people then retreat to the safety of hyperspace before the Centauri guard ships blew them out of space.  That was the responsibility of the fast moving _Vorchans _with new, upgraded defense screens, the perfect vehicles for this type of cover.  Centauri scientists had been working overtime to improve them.  However, the Centauri Captain wasn't comforted in the least by any of this.  The Drazi were one thing, these Narn pirates another. 

Condo's personal opinion was that his government should not have attacked the outsider humans and their alien ally in the first place.  He'd heard the stories of the aliens participation in the destruction of nearly two dozen ships-of-the-line and he had also heard rumors of the impossible boarding of the surviving vessels by the foreign aliens.  The rumor had stated that the Captain of that ship watched helplessly as one of his bridge officers was gutted and then incinerated before his very eyes.  Yes, the government tried to keep it quiet, but rumors like those were impossible to keep suppressed for long. No one could keep the rumor press for working overtime these days. 

He remembered being swallowed up in the righteous, indignation and outrage at such a terrible loss of people and equipment to an inferior enemy such as the Earthers.  His people were no one to laugh at and fully agreed with his Emperor that the Centauri people rise up and demanded extract against those on _B5_, Earth itself, the so-called Federation and the Klingon perpetrators.  He had screamed as loud and as long along with the rest, as the shame seemed too much for him and his people to bear.   He firmly believed that Cartagia had been correct at least in this instance.  Vengeance was their right and only blood could wipe the stain of humiliation from the people of Centauri Prime.   

However, now he saw things in an entirely different point of view.  Regulated to being bait for maddened Narns and killer aliens was sobering to say the least.  He wanted to take his ship and run-anywhere.  Now Conda was could only pray to every god he remembered that the military knew what they were doing and could do it without getting him and his convoy killed in the process.  Being sacrificed for the greater good was something he had no intentions of doing for his people

***

Fully cloaked, the Klingon _B'rel _class attack cruiser _K'mpec's Honor, _began stalking the convoy the instant it dropped into normal space.  This was its hunting ground and like the predator it was, the Klingon ship had claimed it as their territory and that territory lay between Centauri space and what was formally Drazi-held region.  With two Mark eleven pulse disruptor cannons supplemented by six Mark eights and six photon torpedo tubes of various sizes, in its own universe, the ship was feared by everything less than a _Nebula sized_ battleship.  Combined with high-density, tritanium-duranium armor and their shield system, that it was a predator was not in question.   At only three hundred ninety meters in length it was at first underestimated by Centauri combat vessels two to five times bigger.  But that was the past; now aging _Vorchans_ and _Primus_ ships were replaced with the latest upgrades performing escort duty.  And the Klingons couldn't be more pleased.

Weapons control Officer Koss tracked the convoy as though it represented one of his favorite snacks. Of particular interest was the _Primus_ escort, moving swiftly back and forth between the front and rear ships under its protection.  It looked extremely skittish bouncing around like that he thought.  "Target is one hundred thousand kilicams from optimum firing range."

Captain Koral grunted his affirmation.  "Three minutes until we strike.  Load photon torpedoes.  Energize disruptors."

Seated next to him, his first officer, Commander Worf growled menacingly as the cruiser stalked the unsuspecting _Primus_.  His blood burned for the warship, but strangely not for the convoy itself.  Killing defenseless beings onboard unarmed vessels held no pleasure for him anymore.  Evidently it didn't for Captain Koral either.  More often he crippled the ships allowing time for crews to escape.  

However the Narn had no such compassion against their enemies.  

"Are we ready to strike another blow in the cause of freedom?" G'Kar asked no one in particular while smiling viciously at the intended target."

"Yes."  Worf suppressed another growl.  He liked the one called G'Kar, but the Narn talked too much like a politician.  He must have been born one.  

The First citizen of Narn walked a fine line between politician and combatant.  The fact that he actively participated in attacks against the Centauri had infuriated them to no end.  G'Kar was at the very top of what the humans aptly called the Centauri 'hit list' and there had been several overt attempts at kidnapping and assassinations-with extreme prejudice.  Cartagia was angry enough to order the entire Narn population eliminated, but not even he could defy the tide of public opinion.  Narn lived because Cartagia feared his own destruction.  Genocide had a tendency to come back on you. 

The Klingon warship accelerated quickly, de-cloaking at nearly three quarters light speed behind the _Primus_ man-of-war.  Its Captain, suspecting something like this, having exhaustively studied the reports of previous attacks, ordered flank speed and emergency breakaway maneuvers, frantically trying to break the target lock on his ship.  But he didn't have a chance as a photon torpedo, moving close to light speed, slammed into the rear of the _Primus_ detonating with the explosive force of a twenty megaton blast. Gravimetric shielding held for almost twelve whole nanoseconds before being completely overwhelmed by the antimatter annihilation.  The rest of the ship followed the engine compartment into oblivion.  

The entire rear of the sixteen hundred meter-long battleship vanished.  The tremendous levels of gamma and x-ray radiation penetrated the cockpits of the nearby_ Sentri _escort ships, instantly killing those members of the crew unlucky to have survived the initial attack.  From the outside, the overall brightness of the blast belied its true energy output, but the ship had been effectively killed within the first thirty or so nanoseconds of the detonation.  

Before the light faded, four _G`Quon_ Narn ships exited jump points, attacking the _Vorchan_ escorts who were only just beginning to respond the death of their comrade.  Faster and more maneuverable, the Centauri scored first, heavy ion beams raking a Narn heavy cruiser unable to get out of the way in time.  However instead of hitting and cutting through armor, it was mostly deflected by Klingon-derived shielding, not nearly as strong as the _B'rel_ class ship but effective enough to keep the ship from being incapacitated or outright destroyed by a first or second strike. The Narn returned fire, hitting a _Vorchan's_ hull, drilling into it.  Damaged, it went evasive to allow its partner to protect it and get in a few hits against the enemy.  

Watching the battle, every fear that Captain Drako imagined was playing out in front of him.  The escorts couldn't handle the sneak attack and the devastating firepower of these pirate vessels.  One _Primus_ was dead in space and the other was taking a brutal beating from the two Narn ships.  Now the two _Vorchans_ were fighting for their very survival against the alien marauder.  And he solemnly believed that their lives could be measured in minutes.  Then he and his convey would die immediately afterward.  Orders or not, he was about to make a run for it. 

The order had almost been given when four jump points opened just about on top of him.  Three Drakh Destroyers and five of the heavy fighter-gunships, known as Raiders, passed so close to his cargo ship that he was terrified that one of the ships might collide with his.  However, now that the trap was fully sprung his only duty was to get his convoy to safety and away from the fighting.  Those Destroyers were big, big and powerful enough he imagined, to handle anything those aliens could throw out.  He actually gasped as he saw those monstrous ships pass by.  The Destroyers were actually twice the length of a _Primus_ and they literally dwarfed the small enemy vessel.  That only gave him little comfort because size wasn't everything-but it helped.

"Power up the jump engines!" he yelled at his crew.   "There isn't much time left before the big weapons start saturating this entire area!  If you want to live, we leave now!" 

His crew needed no further incentive.  Engines powered up in record time and the fleet was on the move away from the battle zone.

*** 

The Drakh were fast and brutal.  The closest Narn heavy cruiser responded to the threat a little to slowly and was caught between a Drakh vessel and two _Vorchans_.  Its makeshift shields flared into red and collapsed as ion bursts, particle beams and the Drakh heavy weapons plastered its hull.  The Narn exploded as armor melted and vaporized, nuclear fuel melted and ignited, while ammunition popped off inside the ruined vessel.   The odds had changed suddenly, and now the attackers were themselves prey, trying to escape these new vessels, whose weaponry was on par with the Minbari.  The remaining _Primus_ and _Vorchans_ started to retreat, giving the Drakh space to track and kill the tiny Klingon warship.  The surviving Narns were quickly moving off in the opposite direction with a Drakh Destroyer giving furious chase.  The other two locked onto and went after the Klingon ship. 

*** 


	7. Quantum Mechanics is a pain

Chapter Six

****

**_Quantum Universes And The Realities Of It All_**

****

Note:  A serious and heartfelt thanks to Major Diarrhia for the input on quantum universal mechanics and theory of the day.  He helped me a lot and I appreciate it very much.  I have a few theories of my own which are mentioned here as well, but I'll stick to ST Cannon for the most part.  It still may not be correct but I will deal with it as I understand the subject better.  Also any questions you have put them in the reviews and I will get to them-provided that they aren't related too much as to what is going to happen next.  I can't spoil it for you.  

Captain Koral and the crew of _K'mpec's Honor_ were suitably impressed by the power curves of the two ships vectoring in on them.  So far, there had been nothing in this part of the galaxy that had given them any sort of real one-on-one challenge and he was anxious to see what these ships could do.  First, he intended to give the Narns an escape route. 

As for G'Kar, he was appalled at the destruction of his ship by these newcomers.  Every loss represented a further depletion of his already meager defensive force.  "We must help them before they are destroyed!"

The Klingon captain was in complete agreement.  He had no intentions of leaving his comrades to the mercy of these new ships.  The Narn shields were holding, but the enemy's firepower was destroying their integrity very quickly.  Hunting in this part of space was over.  They had stayed around too long, their actions anticipated.    

"The other ship," Koral said, pointing at the screen.  "Move towards it, maximum impulse."  

The navigator, quick to obey, plotted a course and literally flew in between the two-surprised Drakh, who were expecting it to flee from them, as had the larger Narn warships.  The large Bird-of-prey skimmed past them, taking a massive salvo from the two attackers, its shields flaring brightly.  Quickly, the ship accelerated to full impulse.  Recovering from the surprise, the two cruisers followed.  

"Shields down to seventy-five percent," Worf gloriously bellowed to anyone who cared to listen.  "They're using some form of quantum energy discharge."

The Captain grunted his acknowledgement.  "Target that ship," he ordered.  

"Pulse disruptors locked," the gunner yelled.  Photon torpedoes locked!" The targeting computer began to whine as the lock became more and more distinct.  And then he began to sing and was joined by the others.  

"Shields are building back up."

"We are Klingon!"

G'Kar looked at his allies with the sort of shocked expression that revealed the depth of the revelation that had just been revealed to him.  These Klingons truly loved battle, even more so than he had imagined.  No one in their right minds would have gone through the amount of fire they just had while singing as they had just done.  

Worf growled, acknowledging G'Kar's silent observation then turned his attention back on the Drakh Raiders and Destroyers just now becoming aware of the danger behind them.  In that moment of confusion, the Narn survivors began powering up their jump engines.  The startled Raiders vectored away, trying for a new attack position at the oncoming Klingon warship.  Ignoring them, and taking long distance fires from two other Drakh vessels, the _K'mpec's Honor_ fired barrage after barrage of photon torpedoes into the targeted enemy ship then continued the pounding with its disruptors.  Powerful as it was, the unshielded ships armored hull couldn't withstand the attack and the large ship violently broke apart, before exploding.  

"Shields down to fifty-three percent!"

"The remaining Narn have jumped," G'Kar yelled, adding his voice to the others.  

Distracted, the Raiders weren't in position to add their firepower to stop the fleeing Narn ships and were now vectoring towards the Klingon ships portside even as the Destroyers closed in.

"Cloak and wrap three, any direction!"

***

The Drakh Commanders watched in silence, coldly assessing their intended prey as it simply faded away and escaped using that strange form of FTL propulsion.  One of their main ships had been destroyed and two of their Raiders had been critically damaged.  Instead of decapitating the pirates, most of the Narn ships had gotten away.  Even with the supplied data, the resilience of that small vessel had surprised them.  However their own weaponry had been found to be effective in beating down the shields, given enough time.  And at the next opportunity, they would hunt down and kill that ship.

***

Captain Picard, inside his Ready Room started pacing once more.  He'd received the transmission from Captain Sisko and to say that he was dismayed would have been a gross understatement.  His first impulse was to push this revelation into the back of his mind and deal with it at a later time.  The Centauri and Drakh forces were gathering and would probably attack within the hour.  Preparations were ready and Number One and Lieutenants Data and Yar were more than ready to handle any immediate crisis and of course, he in the room right next to the bridge.  

Rubbing his neck, he sat in his chair and hit the comms.  "Lieutenant Yar, open a channel to the _Ambassador _and patch it through."

"Aye, Sir."

A few seconds later, Captain Garret's face appeared onscreen and it looked as strained as he felt.  "I just got the report," she said without preamble.  "I can't believe that we're trapped here.  It's like being victims of a tired joke."

"I refused to accept this. Our future is not written.  I will not accept that we cannot return to our home."

"You don't believe Ben's report?"

The information Captain Sisko had passed on to them hadn't come as a complete surprise, but the details had left them somewhat stunned.   If true, then everything that they remembered, everything they knew and all that they had left behind was gone.

As soon as Picard had read the report, he realized the implications.   As he understood it, admittedly not as well as some of the experts but well enough, their particular temporal reality shouldn't have existed in the first place.  The specific quantum reality was still there but their temporal timeline was essentially reabsorbed by the so-called 'mainbranch' quantum reality.  

There were those who believed that one's decisions, for example turning right rather than turning left, or even nor moving at all, could and did produce divergent realities-different universes if you will, that co-existed side-by-side with one another.  That produced an endless number of alternate universes existing next to one another but never quite touching, as they each possessed specific and unique quantum signatures.  And scientists had discovered a certain validity of that theory as in the so-called mirror universe Kirk and his people were temporarily trapped in.  However the theory had certain inconsistencies and as yet unexplained quandaries.  Yes, the quantum branches did exist and were independent, but there had to be some regulatory system in place to keep the multiverse from becoming infinitely cluttered with alternate realities. 

Picard speculated that his temporal universe may have run afoul of that regulatory system.  After all, if he understood Guinan's information correctly, his universe had existed for less than seventy-two hours.   When his ships went through that temporal aperture that very well may have initiated a collapse of that timeline.  It could have been absorbed, or frozen, or even completely eliminated to maintain multiversal balance.  He would probably never know the truth.  And that created more possibilities and problems.

If they could get back before the Enterprise-D and C went through the temporal 'rabbit hole' then there would be duplicate sets of Picards and Garretts trying to correct the time line.  What would happen to if they succeeded?  Would that timeline go on, continuing to exist, or would it be re-absorbed?  If it didn't cease, then there would still be a second Garrett, his Garrett, stuck in the wrong time.  If she went back with all of the modifications on the _Ambassador_, then the time line would still be polluted.  

He didn't even want to think about the possibility of creating a recursive temporal loop.

If they went back after the event then because of their identical quantum structures, they might well be eliminated in favor of the original residents present whether in the original or modified timeline-because they weren't supposed to exist in the first place.  They could, if the had the ability to, travel to a similar quantum universe and suffer no effects, but it wouldn't be theirs.  And he had his crews to think about.  Their safety was in jeopardy here, however getting home may- and he stressed this to himself, because he wasn't convinced yet-be inviting certain obliteration.  Even if they somehow made it to the original universe, in which the war with the klingons never occurred, Garrett would still be in the wrong timeline.  Alive, but lost in time.  Getting home had been their main concern.  Now the worry was, what would happen to them if they actually succeeded.__

"I will not take the word of a race of unknown aliens telling us that we cannot return home."  Once more he rubbed his neck.  "What are we to tell our crew, that we are not real?  Shall I inform them that we are simply fragments of a reality that no longer exists?"  

The concern he had for his crew was evident and she understood exactly how she felt.  She understood the implications as well.  "Unfortunately, much of what he has says fits with what we already know.  And we know that the future timeline that _the Ambassador_ found itself in should not have existed in the first place."  She paused as the full import of the report began sink in.  She smiled ruefully.  "Words cannot describe how I feel about practical applications of temporal-spatial and sidereal theory.  I truly, truly hate temporal-quantum mechanics."

Picard's frown in its way, completely matched the Garret's attitude.  "As soon as we can, we all need to talk and decide a course of action."

"Acknowledged," Jean-Luc.  "But if it's true and we're trapped here-permanently-then we need to keep this quiet until after this mess calms down."

"I believe I will have Mr. Crusher work out the details," he said.  "A few months of research would do him a world of good.   It will help balance him."

"And give him a few headaches."

"That, Captain, is what we do."  He knew they were both trying to lighten the glumly mood they each were in.  And it had almost worked, too.

Lieutenant Yar's voice interrupted.  "Captain, the rest of the Earth Force fleet has arrived.  You should see this, sir."

"Rachel, I have to go," he said.  "It's starting."

She shook her head in acknowledgement.  "Good luck," she announced, and then cut communications.  

Picard entered the bridged and grimaced at what he saw.  "Are those readings correct?"

Riker merely nodded.  "They didn't waste any time, did they?"

"Scan those ships and find out exactly what what's going on."  

"Hello," Yar murmured as she watched the information come in on the new _Omega_ class Destroyers, along with two modified _Nova-s_ outfitted with gunboats, exiting the hyperspace jump-point.  "There're a total of sixteen of them, definitely derived from Shadow technology.  All of them have a form of bio-armor similar to the type on the Shadow vessel we encountered.  Weapons system specs indicate some type of fusion canon probably helium-based, very powerful.  But I can't get much more detail.  It's like they have some sort of scattering field interfering with our sensors.  We'll have to get closer for a more detailed analysis but preliminary power ratings indicate that they can probably wipe out the Earth Force fleet protecting the base, Sir."

"Transmit this information to Commander Ivanova."

Commander Susan Ivanova, Second-in-Command of _Babylon Five_, Captain of _White Star Two_, slammed her fist so hard into the arm of her seat that she almost broke her hand.  To say that she was livid was an understatement.  To describe her attitude upon hearing the news as being furious, came much closer to the truth.   "Captain Picard, Captain Chamberlain," she started quickly.  "Those ships are a result of President Clarke's experimentation with two Shadow vessels that were found on Mars and Ganymede some time ago. The ship on Mars was rescued by another Shadow vessel, but we managed to destroy the one on Ganymede, but evidently not soon enough for his people to figure out some of the technology."

"I hadn't heard anything about this at all," Chamberlain confessed, disturbed by the images he saw on his view screen.  "How did they keep something like this a secret for so long?"

"With President Clarke?  Please!"  Susan snorted.  "What I don't understand is how did he rush into production so many, so quickly.  He must have gutted the treasury for those ships."  She was quiet for a moment, her initial fury fading.  "But what I do understand is that he planned to use those ships to put his foot on EarthForce's neck.  With that praetorian guard," she said, motioning in the direction of those hybrid ships, "no one on Earth could have resisted him.  "He would have taken us out at _B5_ and we couldn't have stopped him."

"Excuse me, sir," Tasha added.  "The ships power fluctuations seem to be unstable."

"Explain."

"Lieutenant Yar is correct," Data said.  "Judging from the information coming from the hybrid Shadow-Omega vessels, I surmise that they have been rushed into production.  They may not be completed or at the very least, field tested."

"That would be like Clarke to rush them into service before they are ready," Susan responded.  "But as much as I hate to say it we may need them before this is over."

Next:  The Battle of Proxima III


	8. The Battle of Proxima III

Chapter Seven

The Battle of Proxima III

Cloaked and accelerating to the normal cruising speed of warp six, the Klingon-Narn crew compliment began to relax.  The good times attacking and destroying the Centauri convoys and warships were fast approaching its end.  On the bridge, G'Kar, Koral and Worf were embroiled in the mists of heated conversation.  Commander Worf also received the same communications as Picard and Garrett, however he pushed his thoughts to the far reaches of his mind.  The here and now was what mattered.

"We are in trouble," G'Kar snarled, matching the standard fury of Klingons in important conversation.  "Those must be the same ships that are attacking the Minbari.  If they hit the remainder of our forces at _Babylon Five_ we will be completely helpless.  Even with the _Ambassador_ and the upgraded weapons that the _B5_ forces have, they may not be able to withstand a surprise attack without incurring significant loses.  We must consolidate our forces there."

The Klingon Captain grunted after a moment.  The Narn ships were in need of repair, and his ship's shield generators were nearly burnt out, not to mention that primary sensors needed replacement modules and re-calibration after this latest skirmish.  And he found-to his surprise-that he needed, he wanted to talk to Sisko and Guinan.  Conversations with the Captains, all of them including G'Kar and Sheridan, and even the Minbari, Captain Menroi gave him a sense of perspective, which he admitted to himself was of value as he was a still learning the trade himself.  And he found that Worf was acceptable also-and most importantly-not interested in his command.  He could relax without being threatened and that continually amazed him.  Things were so different here.

"Rendezvous with the Narn ships.  We head to _Babylon Five_."

*** 

"Jump points, opening six hundred thousand kilometers." 

Forty-three points of light appeared in the darkness, disgorging sixty Centauri warships and huge numbers of fighters, all headed directly towards an unsuspecting Earth Force, stationed near Proxima III.  However, instead of encountering unsuspecting prey and disorganized resistance, the entire attacking fleet ran into a solid wall of plasma, canon and nuclear fire.  In an instant, an organized strike force turned into disorganized chaos.  A full third of the Centauri ships, completely unprepared for such an aggressive offensive assault against their screens and armor- which worked more like navigational shields than anything else, spreading and dispersing energy weapons fire over a larger surface area to reduce the overall surface damage- crumpled into twisted and exploding debris.  Now, that the first wave had been broken up, the enraged Centauri rallied quickly, and their retaliatory firepower slammed into EAS warships with sufficient force to break up their established formations.  Instead of a coordinated attack, the fighting quickly degenerated into uncontrolled bedlam.  The Earth ships in the front ranks quickly lost formation as _Primus_ and fast moving _Vorchan_ attack ships tore into their ranks with superior firepower.  Centauri defensive armor held long enough to give the EAS ships a vicious raking as ion cannons and particle arrays ripped into _Omegas_ and _Novas_, punching holes through reinforced armor and setting plasma fires with every touch.  

Nuclear-tipped missiles from a _Hyperion_ impacted and vaporized several Centauri _Sentrii_ fighters and their unwary _Primus_ escort.  That small Earth Force victory was countered when two _Vorchans_ gutted a trio of _Omegas_ and a _Nova_ with their main weapons systems.  

At this early stage of the conflict, Earth forces were holding their own, effectively keeping the Centauri from the forces stationed on the colony.  Desperately, they tried to reform to a more effective fighting unit.  But the stalemate was short wave as six more jump points opened and new enemies emerged.  Twenty Drakh raiders, each the size of an Earth Force _Monsoon_ class gunboat, entered the fray slaughtering, the smaller _Starfury_ single-man fighters scrambling to get out of their way.  Their neutron canons cleared away any smaller fighter that dared to go up against them.  

EarthForce had to plug up the gaping hole fast and command assigned the _Monsoons_ to take up the challenge, countering the neutron weapons with plasma and particle beams.  Most were outclassed, One group though did particularly well against them, using a new type of beam weapon, as the larger Drakh destroyers entered normal space attempting to flank the Earth fleet unhappily discovered when caught in the crossfire.  The top mounted beam weapons ripped huge holes in Drakh heavy armor.  But many of the larger Drakh warships surged past the meager defenses, cutting a large swath of destruction in their wake and they were in turned attacked by the newest fleet of Shadow-based _Omegas_. 

The two fleets slammed into each other with weapons significantly greater than anything previously seen in the conflict so far.  Helium based weapons sought out Drakh weak points, while full powered Drakh heavy weapons viciously pounded human-made, shadow-based armor.  

***

Major Griffin, onboard the EAS _Evanston_ hit the floor hard.  Although the destroyer had taken several hits, it was now pursuing a damaged _Primus_ limping away from the battle.  Six shots from the main guns rendered the wounded ship lifeless.   It broke up, several pieces floating away from one another in the serene darkness.  Captain Drake smiled grimly at the latest victory.  In the mists of this battle he was calm, almost relaxed.  The enemy was clear cut this time, not like the last fight. 

Suddenly, the ship rumbled and he saw a small sun appear near the area when several more Drakh destroyers had just entered normal space.  His heart fluttered at the sight.   He had never seen it in operation; nevertheless because of the explosion of light and the accompanying shockwave, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what it was.  "That was the Shatterfist array!" he yelled to Griffin and the General.  _It had to be! _

The newborn star faded quickly, leaving the remains of at least twelve of the cruisers glowing embers, with three more tumbling out of control.  The first modified _Nova _carrying the deadly weapon was quickly retreating, very likely trying to recharge its weapons for another strike.  But it was already too late as one of the surviving destroyers targeted the carrier dreadnought, began its run, burned through two EAS support ships and vaporized it.   Relatively unopposed, it surged towards the remaining Shatterfist _Nova_. 

"Target that ship!" Drake ordered.  If they were to survive then the last remaining Shatterfist would certainly be one of the reasons why.  It was still two to one odds and a third of the fleet had been lost in the fifteen minutes of fighting.  They needed every edge they could get.  

"Aye, Sir.  Ship targeted.  We'll be in firing range in six seconds."   

Beside the _Evanston_, its two _Hyperion_ escorts, and two-dozen _Starfuries_, acknowledged the orders and locked on also.  Threatened from the rear, the Drakh vessel began turning away from the Nova and towards them.

"Fire as soon as we get into range."

The EAS _Evanston_ turned and fired twice with its main batteries, hitting the Drakh amidships, its two escorts immediately following suit.  Drakh armor flared up, but held against the multiple strikes.  The _Evanston _group moved closer and hit it again and the Drakh wobbled visibly.    

"Once more," the Captain roared.  In the distance, he saw the results of this next attack.  The _Evanston_ had scarred the middle to rear section of the enemy ship; molten metal flaked off the destroyer.  Wounded, the Drakh's rear engines fired up and once more the ship begin to vector towards them.  It turned to face its attackers faster than anyone dreamed possible, locked on to both the nearest _Hyperion_ and the _Evanston_, and fired.  The majority of the blasts missed the _Omega_-class ship_,_ but sliced the _Hyperion_ cleanly in two.  

Drake averted his eyes from the horrible spectacle in order to concentrate more on the fighting at hand.  Inwardly, he hated what was happening to EarthForce. Although few people would admit it openly, the aging, nearly obsolete _Hyperions _were considered death traps by many of their crews.  It was underpowered and its offensive and defensive weaponry stood up poorly against the newer weapons fire employed by alien vessels.  But Clarke's agenda and obsession with the new, Impressive, intimidating _Omega X's_, precluded any upgrading or building of other, better designed ships.  The new _Warlock_ class ships were still on the drawing boards even though the basics of gravity plating were now understood.  That one invention alone could conceivably revolutionize all of EarthForce.  No longer would humans be subjected to the vulgarities of zero gravity or rotating sections on spaceships or space stations.  But that wasn't a priority of the President and his immediate staff.  The result was that Clarke's praetorian guard had been strengthened, but EarthForce as a whole, diminished.

But whether it was a _Hyperion_ or a more heavily armed _Omega_, a direct hit from the enemy destroyer was devastating.  

What energies that did touch the _Evanston_ nearly burned through its re-enforced armor.  The Drakh vessel fired a second time and the _Evanston's _systemsred-lined as several decks were exposed to vacuum and the port engine suffered damaged.  Now it was the EAS destroyers' turn to wobble from the force of a blast.   General Pickett crashed into the bulkhead, broke several ribs, one of which punctured a lung, and his face contorted violently, the result the sudden and terrible pain the hit him like a high-speed vehicle.   Beneath them, the ship continuously rumbled as though tossed to and fro in a storm.  The lights briefly faded and powered back up.  People were screaming orders and helping one another up and frantically trying to maintain station keeping.

Even with the advantage of the first strike, even with the Drakh ship damaged, it was apparent that the Drakh vessel was more powerful than the _Evanston._  The second _Hyperion_ had been hit by another salvo and was now limping away from the battle, its weapon's ports damaged. The EAS ship was listing slightly to portside now and the destroyer, sensing a kill was charging in.  

There was nothing close enough to assist them.  But even so, the _Evanston_ fought back with everything it had.  A half-dozen high-speed nuclear missiles erupted from her forward tubes, began tracking the pursuing vessel, only to be detonated prematurely by the Drakh's defensive particle weapons.  

A very pale looking scanner officer suddenly turned to face Drake and Griffin who was next to him.  "They've locked onto us."  

 "Get us out of here!" the General, lying on the floor, yelled over the ever-increasing din.  "Prepare to fire all remaining defensive batteries."  

A med tech was in the middle of a battle of her own, trying to treat the wounded man bleeding all over the floor. The yelling had taken a price and fresh pain flare throughout his body.  But through the pain he could also feel the ship finally responding.

The Drakh ship suddenly exploded spectacularly as a photon torpedo detonated in the amidships, ripping through into it like tissue paper.  A second later a small ship flashed into existence, its nacelles glowing bright blue but fading slowly.  Right behind it, were two more vessels, followed another four, exiting from newly created jump points. Communications chirped over the sounds of battle damage, demanding to be heard.  It was Picard.  

"How badly damaged are you?" he demanded in that usual cold voice Drake was so used to.  They didn't have time to scan the ship in detail.

He didn't care. Simply being alive was the most important thing right now, that and his crew.  "Port engine's gone and we've sustained moderate damage throughout the entire ship."  Quietly: "thanks from the assist.  They had us."

"You're welcome," Picard acknowledged quickly.  "You must martial your forces.  Your forces are vulnerable spread out as they are.   We will provide cover until you reform your defenses."

General Pickett broke in.  "Our tactical station and long range comms has been wreaked.  Is it possible that you can broadcast my voice to the rest of the fleet?" he asked through clinched teeth.

"Yes," Picard said after a second.  "You may begin, General."  
  


"All ships regroup at point Ćote.  I repeat, regroup at point Ćote!"

***

There were ten _White Stars _frigates in existence, the sole survivors of an attack by the Drakh on the shipyards that created the Vorlon-Minbari hybrid ships. All of them were stationed at _Babylon Five_.  Five of them had been modified with Federation-style shields; makeshift warp engines and three had been outfitted with min-photon launchers.  Onboard _White Star One _and_ Two_, the first transporter units had been installed.  So far, neither the majority of Minbari, nor human crewmembers had been in a rush to test them out.  Even so, several brave souls were getting used to them. Susan Ivanova was one of them.

One of the things that Susan fell in love with was the sub-dermal translator that allowed her to understand Minbari without having to learn the language.  This did, however caused one small problem.  She now had the hardest time trying to motivate herself into actually learning the language.  The translator made things too easy and she found herself constantly turning it on and off as she studied the language.  That was a constant pain.  However, right now she love loved it because on her _White Star_, everybody understood everyone else.  And when fighting against a vicious enemy like the Drakh and Centauri, that made all the difference between life and death.  

In front of her White Star were three Centauri fighters and one Drakh raider positioning themselves for an attack against several retreating EAS _Hyperions_, making a run towards the newly establishing Earth Force line some fourteen thousand kilometers distant.  And so far, they were completely unaware of the relief force rapidly bearing down upon them from the rear.  The four Runabouts broke off and attacked another Centauri group reforming and harassing other EarthForce ships some fifty thousand klicks distant.   Exploding photon torpedoes yields brightened the sky for thousands of kilometers around.

_White Star Two _began its attack run followed closely by the rest of the resistance fleet.  Already in range, Susan gave the order.  "Torpedoes, fire!"

Two photonic, missiles erupted from her ship followed by six more from her support _Omegas_ and four fusion missiles from each of the two H_yperions_.   But it was already too late.  One of the damaged EAS ships took fire from the rear and veered off, out of control and burning.  It wasn't a fatal hit, but it was a near thing.  

The deadly projectiles, traveling at one-third light speed, and fusion missiles bring up the rear, peppered the immediate area of the enemy fleet, obliterating all of them before they even realized they were under attack.  But the attack hadn't gone unnoticed others and three more of the Drakh cruisers turned to face them while even more Centauri ships concentrated on the EAS defenders.   Susan blanched when she saw the oncoming ships.  Her W_hite Star_ was a match for one of the cruisers but even with seven to three odds, this wasn't good.  The resistance ships had vastly upgraded weapons but no defensive armament as of yet, other than what was normally carried.  This, of course wasn't about to stop her from ramming everything she had down their throats.  

Turning faster than any of her comrades could hope to, _White Star Two,_ followed by _White Stars Five_ and _Six_, fired their energy beams at the nearest Drakh, scoring hits on the bridge and front third of the ship.  Staggered and mortally wounded, it returned fire, its beam weapons splashing violently across the hybrid vessel's shields.  Susan flew past the ship at high speed, never stopping her fire for an instant.  In defending itself and returning fire on its attacker, the besieged Drakh relied on its own ships to support it from the _White Star's_ rapidly approaching sister fleet.  Firing another salvo, it hit the _White Star_ _Two_ and bounced it around, just as the other two _White Stars_ and the Resistance fleet opened fire on the other two Drakh vessels.  _White Star_ _Two_ flipped one hundred eighty degrees and made another run, keeping the first destroyer fully occupied. For its ferociousness, it was hit twice.  Several of the crew died and the ship's secondary defensive weapons were obliterated.

The other two Drakh warships were about to fire their quantum cannons when another ship suddenly appeared on their scanners, moving towards them faster than anything they had ever seen traveling in normal space.  The profile and energy reading were unmistakable and they turned to meet this new and very dangerous threat.  But ignoring the other EAS fleet was simply too dangerous as they immediately discovered when the resistance EAS ships opened fire.  So they did the only thing they could under the circumstances-

-They called for immediate assistance.   

-While they died in fire.

***

_Enterprise_ locked onto the starboard destroyer with its phasers and fired, hitting the exact same area that the fleet had damaged just seconds ago.  Obviously panicked, the Drakh Captain tried to fire on everyone at once, effectively doing damage to no one.  His ship caved in at the center, explosions quickly ripping the doomed ship apart.  Meanwhile, the second destroyer ignored the hits from the small squadron that had just flown by in order to lock onto its primary target.  Quantum cannons and neutron beams fired simultaneously, hitting Federation ship's shields.  The ship shuttered slightly as shields dropped ten percent and a few EPS conduits blew.  The starship returned fire once more, phasers touching the ship's hull, cutting deeply into the fleeing Drakh ship.  Mortally crippled, the ship began listing as its engines slowly went critical.  Lifeboats were seen escaping from the wounded, and burning behemoth.   The _Enterprise_ fired again and the Drakh ship ceased to exist. 

Meanwhile. Commander Ivanova's ship was making sure that the first Drakh ship's full attention was on her.  The main beam canon sliced apart everything that it touched on the destroyer.  It couldn't dare ignore it to defend itself from the incoming resistance ships now firing on its rear. Finally the ship lost hull integrity and the _White Star_ drilled through the front at the exact same time the squadron sliced through the rear of the ship.   

***

The Commander of the relief squad of Drakh destroyers and raiders arrived too late to save the three now destroyed ships.  However, he and his associates didn't consider the lost in vain because they had flushed out their primary target.  The six three thousand-plus meter long ships were specifically ordered to target and destroy the Federation starship.  They were well aware of its capabilities, as detailed with its earlier encounter with a Shadow mothership and as such they were taking no chances, all of them were firing on the fast moving warship intent on avoiding their most powerful weapons.   The wild maneuvers initiated by the target weren't completely successful and the small vessel rocked violently as three of the beams intersected its shields, whose power ratings had dropped by twenty points.  Turning quickly, the vessel returned fire, cutting into the armored bridge of the closest destroyer.  The unusual beam hit with devastating effect, first incinerating meters of reinforced armor, and then piercing deep into the command and weapons section.  Pieces of the destroyer literally disappeared, as the battleship's beam touch them. 

The Drakh Commander coldly watched as it veered off, out of control, its forward section glowing a sickly red.  A second destroyer died as two of their glowing missiles-torpedoes literally vaporized the entire ship.   Respectful now but undeterred, the Commander ordered his capital ships to continue their attack, concentrating on the glowing engines as the smaller two hundred meter long raiders attack closed in for strafing runs.  There were another three vessels in reserve, if needed.  Once this ship was destroyed then the Earth ships, already hard-pressed by the Centauri and his companions, would be next in line.  But this was by no means going to be easy.

Unexpectedly, the ship to his right disappeared in a titanic explosion when fusion missiles, detonating in the immediate proximity, shred its engines.  He cursed himself for not taking into account those ships behind him.  But not willing to let his prey go, he ordered the raiders to break off pursuit of the _Enterprise_ and destroy the enemy at his rear.  Angered at the waste of such good materiel and personnel, he reluctantly called for his re-enforcements.  This accompanying fleet was a nuisance that need to be stamped out and he had no qualms about flooding the area with as many of his ships as necessary to complete his objective.

***

"Lock on to the nearest ship and prepare to open fire," Susan ordered.  The Minbari weapons crewwoman did as she was ordered instantly.  

"We have a solid lock," the female Minbari said.

"Fire!"

"The raider took the hit and broke apart.  Its companion targeted the _White Star_ and fired its own weapon a split second before it joined its companion in death.  But that split second was enough and _White Stars Two's_ armor was torn.  Most of the crew were thrown to the side and several were injured critically.  Susan's nose was bleeding and it felt like she had broken a finger.  It was true.  Two raiders were equal in power to a _White Star_.  _No matter,_ she thought.  _We can still fight_.   

Behind her, Captain Chamberlain took up the slack, ordering her to back off.  The _Omega's_ heavy weapons had been firing non-stop along with the rest of the battlegroup and the attackers now had to defend themselves against the two additional _White Stars_ fighters and Earth Force ships that possessed far more firepower than the others of their kind.

Commander Ivanova, feeling the heat of the moment, ignored Chamberlains orders.  Her ship had real energy shielding on top of her Minbari armor.  It didn't matter that those shields were being worn down.

"Shields down to fifteen percent," an engineer yelled.  Susan didn't care.   She would rely her ship's armor to protect them.  Her ship's scanners had picked up additional Drakh and a couple of Centauri warships vectoring hard towards the _Enterprise_ in a frantic effort to destroy or at least disable it.

"To all ships, blast through these clowns and concentrate on relieving the _Enterprise!"_  

Four resistance EAS ships, four Runabouts who had rejoined the fleet and three _White Stars_ turned as one and let loose with long distance photon mini-torpedoes, photonic and fusion missiles at the newcomers just coming into range.   Seeing the danger, the enemy let loose with everything they had with both offensive and defensive countermeasure's fire.  The entire area mushroomed with nearly a hundred micro starbursts.

***

The battle wasn't going as well as General Pickett had hoped for.  Over half of the Earth Force ships were damaged or had been destroyed outright.  They had struck the first telling blow and that had blunted the full force of the Centauri-Drakh attack.  But even the _Shadow-Omega_ force and been reduced from sixteen to three ships by a fierce, unrelenting attack by waves of Drakh cruisers. There were thirty-seven capital ships still battle worthy against forty-four of the enemy.  Most of the smaller _Monsoon_ class gunships had fallen.  All except six, which acquitted themselves far better than their brethren in this free for all.  But now wasn't the time to worry about that now.  Pickett had a decision to make.  Clearly, with the addition of four more vessels, the Drakh were intending to destroy the _Enterprise_ and he warred within.  That ship had saved the _Evanston_ from destruction and its presence along with its support group had allowed his desperate fleet to re-group once more into a fighting force.  His internal struggle only lasted a second however, as the experience of war made his mind up for him.  Even as he opened his mouth, reports of more jump points were opening, more Drakh were coming.  _Where were all these ships coming from?_ he thought furiously.  

"Prepare the Shatterfist for long range firing," he bellowed into the comms, then coughed again as fresh spasms of pain slammed into him as a reward for his yelling.  Designed to be used against the Federation battleships, the technology that was Shatterfist had been improved enough so that three shots could be managed instead of only two.  After that the weapon would be useless until it could be completely refitted.  "Lock onto the Drakh fleet hounding the _Enterprise_!" 

Drake merely nodded.  "Open a channel to the _Enterprise_."  Drake's mouth gaped slightly as the _Enterprise's_ phasers gutted another Drakh.  The power ratings being utilized by the alien Federation vessel was far higher than anything he had seen previously when he fought it at _Babylon Five_.  The man shuttered.  

Picard was on instantly.  Drake watched as the ship shook the crew violently.  For some reason, it gave him pleasure to see Picard on the receiving end of an attack for a change.  Nevertheless, now was not the time for gloating.  "Picard, we're about to relieve you of some of your irritations.  Stand by."  

Picard hesitated a second.  "Acknowledged," he answered finally.  "Lieutenant Yar, order the fleet to move away from us now!"

Susan was on the comms immediately.  "I will not abandon a ship-"

Picard cut her off.  "Break off now!" he ordered in a cold fury.  Her ship was seriously damaged, a direct result of the Commanders reckless actions.  "Mr. Crusher, prepare for emergency warp!"

"Yes, Sir.  Warp is available on your mark," the young man responded.  

The W_hite Stars_ and the resistance ships broke off and scattered either by jump point or warp leaving the _Galaxy_ class vessel alone with its attackers.  Sensing victory, the destroyers ignored those who fled and pounced on the Federation ship.  In unison, they fired, trying to burn through the protective shielding.  In turn, multiple phaser bursts lashed out scoring several hits on numerous targets and she was moving much, much faster now that the ship wasn't worried about the support fleet.  Sensing the threat coming from the small battleship, the Drakh closed ranks for mutual protection as they moved in to a final head-to-head confrontation.

The _Shatterfist Nova_ warships begin powering up.   From Drake's and his crew's point of view, it looked as though the entire ship was glowing, which indeed it was.  The vessel was essentially one large reactor designed for one reason only and that was to power up the particle beam weapon that would one day be aimed on the Federation ships to punch through their shields and eliminate them once and for all.  Now, it was going to be used to save the very thing it was made to destroy. The irony was not lost on those officers in charge.  Several EAS ships were running interference for the ship as both Centauri and Drakh vessels of all configurations were making attack runs on it.  Having witnessed the previous volley, they desperately, they were trying to destroy the vessel before it could fire once more.   

"The _Nova's_ target designation has been achieved, light radar acquisition is strong and locked.  It's firing," the scan-tech said an instant before the full-powered energy beam erupted from the giant barrel of the weapon.    Instinctively, everyone shielded their eyes from the blue-white spear heading directly for the _Enterprise_ and the Drakh ships in its path.  Anything in its path simply incinerated, including two Centauri fighters and one hapless Star Fury too damaged to get out of the way in time.  

***

"Energy spike!"  The Drakh Commander yelled, recognizing the trap he and his people had flew into.  He didn't understand why the targeted ship had not fled with the others.  At first he thought that their fierce resistance was simply due to pride and defiance, a noble sacrifice to save their friends or the arrogance and pride to fight to the inevitable end.  Now he held on for his life, locked into a life and death grudge match, with neither his squadron or the isolated human-controlled ship able or willing to disengage.

As yet another of his ships was gutted from stem to stern, he quickly discovered that his squadron had cornered a monster.  True, the enemy shields were failing under his onslaught, but his ships were taking a fearsome beating in return.  The energy beams and glow-missiles erupting in every direction from it destroyed everything they touched.  But the ship had remained in the immediate area instead of full taking advantage of its formidable speed and maneuverability.  He thought that the ships STL or FTL drives had been damaged during the fighting and the ship was unable to move as it should have.    

But the true connection as to what they were doing hadn't been made until now.  "It's a trap!" he screamed.  "Retreat from this area!"

*** 

Onboard the _Enterprise_, before as Captain Picard issued the order, Wesley Crusher activated warp drive.  Faster than the eye could follow, the ship was on the move.  Speeding away from the impending carnage, it was a thousand kilometers from ground zero and accelerating to warp six.  A few moments later, the ship decelerated violently, cruising up from behind a stunned _Evanston_, and the _Shatterfist Nova_.  For a second, the EAS fleet held their collective breaths as the _Galaxy-class_ turned to face the enemy.  For a moment, every ship, every crew was united in their desires to keep possession of Proxima III.  It represented the first turning point in Earth Federation relations.  A small victory-a very small one-but it was something.

***

The bluish-white beam, so finely tuned that it ionized molecules in its passage, speared one destroyer and expended itself on the unfortunate primary target situated at the right place and the wrong time.  Several smaller ships were scorched and damaged by the resultant explosion of both vessels.  And none of the vessels damaged by the _Enterprise _survived including their Commander.  But the results served only to incense both Drakh and Centauri attack vessels. The fleet begin to regroup again for another, major push.  With two-to-one odds against, Major Griffin wasn't confident of the outcome.  Already, long distance enemy fire was beginning to penetrate the perimeter defenses.  And even as the resistance fleet jumped to join their flagship, the _Enterprise_ was signaling that the mother ship in hyperspace had released another ten Drakh destroyers and a large number of raiders to join in the fight.  The EAS defense group of forty-three ships couldn't handle a new wave of sixty plus Drakh and Centauri ships.  He was now the senior ranking officer and he was about to lose his job.  The President would never accept another defeat without someone's head placed on the block.

"Order an emergency evac of Proxima III," he ordered. "Order perimeter guardships to retreat and assist in the evacuation. Recall all fighters-they're expended.  "All main battle groups will engage in order to do as much damage as possible and give our people as much time as we can.  All ships unable to fight are to assist in the evac where feasible and then leave.  Order the _Petrov_ to jump- get out of jamming range and let Earth Force know what's happening here. And open a channel to the _Enterprise_."

"Channel open."

"Picard, I don't expect you and your people to stay."

"We'll do everything we can," the _Enterprise_ captain announced.  "Interesting weapon," he said dryly.  

"Glad you like it," he retorted.  The _Enterprise_ must have analyzed the beam and discovered its secret he suspected.  _Shatterfist_ was intended to destroy them.  "We intend to give a repeat performance in a few minutes.  You can choose to make your stand anywhere you want."

"We're make our stand here," Picard said flatly.  "The enemy is well within our weapon's range."  This included the _White Star's _enhanced weaponry, something he didn't mention to Earth Force, but they would be found out soon enough.  

Someone behind Griffin muttered something.  "Your torpedoes are impressive, Picard," Captain Drake said grimly.  "But I'm sure that they'll be waiting for that attack, they've seen it before."

"You have not seen everything we have, Captain."  Turning his head, he nodded slightly.  Behind him Commander Riker's voice was loud and clear.

"Lieutenant Yar," his voice boomed.  "Load the type-VI photon torpedoes and prepare to fire on the captain's order."

"Yes, sir," the shorthaired blond responded.   

The major's curious, intrigued glance was answered with a single sentence.  "Multiply by a factor ten."

"Major."  

Behind him Drake, listening to the exchange blanched.   

"Major," the female officer repeated, louder this time.  "They're not advancing," she announced, clearly perplexed by the sudden change.  "In fact, sensors show them pulling back!"

"What?"

"Confirmed, Sir," Griffin and Drake heard Tasha say on the still opened channel.  She sounded as perplexed as her counterpart on his ship.  "The Drakh carrier in hyperspace is moving off and so are the destroyers.   

Without the Drakh support, the Centauri stopped short, unclear what to do.  With their forces cut it half, they were now suddenly in danger of having to death  with a counterattack by Earth Force.  Within a few moments, they also began to strategic retreat.  Scores of _Sentrii_ fighters and support ships began to move away from the Earth ships and exit through jump points initiated by the larger warships.

"To all ships," an uncertain Major Griffin ordered to his command.  "Do not pursue.  I repeat do not pursue.  Maintain station and get our wounded to safety.  Look for the survivors.  For some reason they've left.  But stay sharp.  They may be back.."  Nodding to Drake, he headed towards medical bay to check on the General.  The ship was in bad shape, but still battle worthy.  _We dodged the bullet this time,_ he thought as he rushed to the bay.  _But the question is why?_

_***_

Onboard the _Enterprise_, resistance fleet and the EAS combat vessels, the crews were thinking the very same thing.

**Next: Everything changes as things get-complicated. **


	9. Comments and questions

Thank you people for all of your comments and questions and I will try to answer them all-more or less (smile). This is a quickie to answer some of the questions posed in the reviews. It will be posted until Monday December 1, 2003.  
  
From: WBH21C(): Is the new Thunderbolt class a two-seater or a single- seater?  
  
-The far majority are 2 seaters even though there are single seat variants: ***  
  
From: andrewjameswilliams author of 'Destiny's Child', a story I am hoping HE WILL CONTIUNUE SOMEDAY!  
  
.I have got to wonder though what is going on, why the Drakh suddenly decided to pull out. Have the Shadows gone and activated the Thirdspace device and the Thirdspace aliens come through to pound them with superior weaponry. If the Shadows were under such major attack I could see the Drakh running to their masters aid leaving the Centauri to face the pissed off forces of the rest of the galaxy on their own.  
  
-This is exactly correct. The Drakh have abandoned the Centauri to help the Shadows against the 3rd space aliens. The Shadows captured the artifact and woe to them and the galaxy at large. There's a lot of story here to tell.  
  
I also wonder what's going to happen when Voyager comes into this briefly - I mean she's probably far more powerful than Picard's Enterprise what with her isomagnetic disintegrator banks, phasers, quantum torpedoes, photon torpedoes (which I think are type-VI they were in the show at any rate) and her transphasic torpedoes. The Drakh and Shadows would be in for a very nasty shock if they challenged her.  
  
-Voyager uses a type VIII phaser array. Everyone will be in for a shock. But they will need everything that they can get because Pandora's box has been opened and the Shadows are leaving town. This portion will be explained in 'Londo's Diary' chapter coming up in mid December. I keep telling people that the B5 universe may not survive and no one believes me! Ah, well. ***  
  
What kind of "Job" did Janeway agree to do for Q?  
  
-Wait and see. It's part of a crazy plan by Q and the others. ***  
  
I was wondering that too. Why is Griffin a Colonel at the beginning and a Major at the end?  
  
-Albert make boo boo mistake and put Colonel where major supposed to be. Major Griffin is Major Griffin. Major Griffin becomes Colonel when Albert Kills everybody off. But that's in future. Albert, Sorry.  
  
Version 2 of this story is coming out and the many mistakes will be corrected so that many more can be created. *** From Sir Charles Nelson of the 'A tangled Web' Fame: Refresh my memory, please. Who are the Aeriana? And the Xindi? I don't recall ever hearing of them before.  
  
-I actually stumped the master of the crossover story? On an easy one? Yes! The Xindi are part of the 'Star trek: Enterprise' story going on now. They're the major threat and now since the temporal cold war is spreading its wings there I have to include it here. The Aeriana crystal in the V'ger story was mentioned in 'Evolutions: Gleanings past and future' chapter one. It was always alive but only now is it starting to communicate with us lower life forms.  
  
Are you still thinking of using Gary Seven? The time traveling agent Kirk met in 1960's around NASA? He had the black cat that turned into a Woman when you weren't looking. He'd be a great agent in your Temporal War.  
  
-I will not because I am spread very far right now and I would lose track if I added Gary and his people into the mix.  
  
What are the names of the time traveling aliens that are giving Captain Archer headaches all the time?  
  
-The 'somethings or others'. I've forgotten for now.  
  
Could you have some time capsule clues tucked away by Archer to give to Janeway? Or since we don't know how Archer dies maybe he could have just time traveled into the future to deal with some event? Or he could quantumly inhabit Tom Paris and try to figure out what he needs to do to help chuckle - quantum leap joke. Anyway, just something for you to think about.  
  
-Sorry. No Archer or quantum leaps in this story. Only quantum slipsteams, quantum universes and variable possibilities in relation to time-space phenomena. (My family hates it when I talk like that!)  
  
Now Sela of Romulus is evidently part of the expedition (very glad of that) but what about Spock and the remnant of Romulans that survived the Cylon and Borg attack?  
  
-Sela and one Romulan Centurion are onboard Voyager. She's about to meet her mamma and they both have issues. Should be interesting. Spock was only guess staring.  
  
You wrote Worf's dead wife's name as Janzia. Worf was married to Jadzia Dax. Unless this is part of the Temporal War mess-up, I think you've Made a mistake.  
  
-Yes, that is yet another error that is being corrected today. Again boo boo to be corrected.  
  
And could you give me definitions to Imperixe, the Sinhindrea and the Cionas?  
  
The Ciona Imperixe (the full name in collaboration with Louis Hill and myself) is the name given to the parasites (by us) that attacked the Federation in the first season of ST:TNG. I have a developed very detailed life history on them that would make parasitologists proud. And because I have studied this complex life cycle, I can't follow the DS9 books just out concerning those same parasites. Simply put, I don't like the way the parasites are portrayed so I am going in another direction. The Sinhindrea are another race of predatory beings whose presence will be felt everywhere in the chapters to come. I don't want to give it away but I will send you that chapter today which will clear up all of your immediate questions. The rest will not get it until February or so, I believe.  
  
The background history is mentioned in the 'Ruination Imperatives'. See below:  
  
Sire Forsen quietly turned to Captain Riker and nodded his head at Q. "Does he always go on like this?"  
"He act's like this only when he's very worried. And despite appearances, he's very worried right about now."  
"Quiet Human scum," Q said indignantly. "I have the floor now." He took a dramatically faked breath and continued. "There are a few great powers that give the Collective pause in their relentless pursuit of perfection. There is the Yongi-Sinhidrea, the Ciona Imperixe, you know, those little bugs with the great ambitions for your Federation. And there is, of course the Great Machine Intelligum of the Baroni cluster. These three are terrible powers that the Borg, in their arrogance, have tried and failed to subject or destroy. Of the three Great Enemies, the Great Machine Intelligum is considered by the Borg to be the most valuable and thus most coveted. But the Intelligum has resisted the Borg for close to two hundred years with no end in sight. However the Borg did discover a weakness. "  
"V'Ger."  
"Exactly." Q appeared next to Spock in a flash. "Would you care to continue?"  
Nodding, Spock began without preamble.  
"V'Ger was a combination of an Earth probe and advanced technology from the Intelligum. In my -exuberance, I tried to join with the entity and was rebuffed. But not before I obtained a glimpse of that made Voyager six, which was considered primitive, but still a kindred spirit, into V'Ger. It had a wish and that was to evolve but it could not do so on its own. It desired to join with its creator. It needed to touch its creator, in essence to discover its purpose. Its knowledge spanned this universe and it needed to evolve. It literally joined with its creator, a representative of humanity. Captain Willard Decker, a perfect mechanical copy of a Deltan navigator named Ilia and V'Ger itself joined together to create a new life form unlike anything in this galaxy." "And that is exactly why the Borg lusts after V'Ger, or should I say the children. The union between V'Ger and Human ape and Deltan sex fiend produced unexpected results. The Deltan aspect required a lot of attention and the human aspect, Decker who had a previous relationship with Ilia, fit the bill perfectly. The Union became a duality, which produced several offspring, humanoid in appearance, Intelligum by design, with the mindset both organic and mechanical. Only two children were viable, but their energy and intelligence were remarkable, if I must say so. Each contains the best of both worlds."  
"This of course attracted the Borg in droves and fight has lasted until now. The kids hate the Borg and will instantly destroy anything that approaches them containing Borg technology. This is where Anika Chakotay will come in. Thousands of cubes were destroyed which, I may add, is just one of the reasons why they haven't come to your section of space in swarms. Kate, you and your other self hurt them more than you know." _______________  
  
And have you decided what the V'ger children are going to be like?  
  
-That is a secret for now but your notes and comments in our earlier discussions helped me a lot in forming them.  
  
And what kind of job would Q need Janeway to do for him? Talk to you later, Charlie.  
  
-That's still a secret forthcoming very soon. Take care. AG ***  
  
From Art M.  
  
Hey Albert: Regarding the Narn Battlecruiser, I refer you to . I find a lot of "interesting" stuff in there. You might find some, too!  
  
In reference to the "Battle Of The Line" comment I made, I point out the thought made by COLONEL Griffin: "Colonel Paul Griffin, Second in command of the Defense expedition and the rest of the crew onboard the EAS Evanston watched in awe as the largest collection of battleships since the Defense-of-the-line moved into formation." Like I said, no more capital ships during that Last Stand. I guess I just wasn't clear enough on what I was "critiquing".  
  
-For Paul during that time, whatever was left (I believe it's coming on Sci- fi channel this week) still had to have made an impressive sight. I am sure that there were a 'few' Capitial ships left. In what shape they were in I cant vouch for. But for Paul it still made an impression.  
  
Concerning the "The Passing Of The Technomages" trilogy: given the level of advancement made by the Shadows and Vorlons (each 1 million plus older than the younger races (in the Trilogy, the Shadows were a few years older than the Vorlons!), it is very highly likely that one person can control a Battlecrab. Most humans use only about less than 5% of their brains. What the Shadows do is COMPLETELY wipe the brain of the CPU (sentient being). So, in a sense, you are correct in that Anna Sheridan is a completely new and different person. The original Anna Sheridan is gone. In the Trilogy (officially sanctioned by JMS, BTW), Anna Sheridan was being coached by Morden and "Jason". But of course, like you said, there are big "gaps" in her personality. IF you can find these books, I highly recommend that you buy them. They are an interesting and stimulating read!  
  
-I may consider doing so after I finish this story. The reason being is that it is so easy to be influenced and swayed by another interpretation as I am writing my story. Plus unless it is canon I won't modify what I have written because I don't believe that the Shadows would have only one crew member who controls the ships and the smaller vessels completely independently. If I can't convince myself, I can't convince my readers. It's the same thing with DS9's novels representation of the parasites.  
  
The Trilogy also talks about Galen--a lot about him, actually. He's one of my favorite characters in the JMS "Bab-verse". It also talks about how he is the most powerful of the Technomages. Am I intriguing you into reading the Trilogy, yet? Hope you include him in your later chapters; especially since you gave me a little teaser there in Chapter 23 in "A Universe..."!!!  
  
-We shall see, with whatever's left of the B5 verse.  
  
So, you're bringing Janeway and Voyager-B, eh? You bringing the Admiral's little Task Force with her?   
  
-Maybe.  
  
Are you going to ignore the Prime Directive and let her upgrade the "-C" and "-D"?   
  
-Interesting point. Let's see where it takes us. After all, the C and D may not even survive the 3rd space onslaught. I keep telling people this.  
  
Actually, having Janeway and Garrett interact would be a hoot!!! Can't wait for that one!   
  
_This is a big chunk of story coming up. Actually Kathryn and Rachel and Picard and Sisko will have a-meeting.  
  
How about "my" Starfleet Marines? What's the mission that you will have them do?  
  
-Patience. Cylons are a pain and so are 3rd space aliens.  
  
Thank you people. I will be posting after the holiday. Comments are welcomed. Remember this is version 1.0. Albert 


	10. Journeys

Short postings twice a week for the next 3 weeks  people:  then a break until Feb while I catch up on everything.  Please Enjoy. Skeet

Chapter Eight

**Journeys**

The United Planet Cruiser _C-57-D_ cruiser-a true flying saucer by anyone's definition-swept by yet another star system that previously didn't exist on established stellar charts.   And with the exception of one, all sixteen members of the ship's crew were more than worried.  At the speed that they were traveling, the navigational computer calculated that it would take another six months and fifteen days to reach Earth.  But at the moment, no one fully trusted those calculations.  Data of the surrounding stars consistently showed minor but significant errors.  What frightened them were the differences in some of the closer stars. Certain stellar objects were where they were supposed to be and others didn't exist at all.  The Sol system appeared to be in the right place but that was about all they could ascertain at this distance.  It was as though someone had ripped the universe apart like a puzzle and hadn't quite put it back together in the correct order.  The klystron-hyperspace beacons weren't transmitting and that was impossible since the directional beacons had been put in place over seventy years ago and none of the forty devices had ever been de-activated. 

The only good piece of news is that whatever had happened to them some six months ago hadn't damaged the ship.  Things had been knocked around, but that was it-if one didn't count the two and a half hours of absolute and previously unimagined pain that had all but paralyzed them as they went through what had only be described as a tear in space.  The best guess was that it was a field of distortion caused by the passing of a black hole perpendicular to their flight trajectory.  The gravity waves that hit them almost tore the ship apart and according to a couple of computer analysis, it had.  But nothing appeared wrong-except the universe at large.  

Captain John J. Adams was as tense as he had ever been.  If ever a mission was cursed, this one was.  They had come seeking survivors and had found death instead.  Five of his crew had been lost during an encounter with a monster strong enough to resist the four million electron volt thrown at it point blank while standing in the middle of a defensive energy barrier.  The thing killed three of his men without trying.  By a miracle, and the greatest of sacrifices, they had survived and now the woman who would be his wife was by his side.   But his friend 'Doc' was gone.  So was Chief Quinn. 

-And Lieutenant Farman.  

-All of the senior officers.  

And the others were killed as well.   That left him with the non-coms, an average of twenty-six years old, all looking for him to pull a miracle out of his hat.   The few positive things that happened on this voyage could never balance out those deaths, however it was a decent start.   At least, the hyperdrive engines were working perfectly and Rob, his astrogator kept them in fine shape.   

Doc would have loved this.

_Aw, Doc.  Why did you have to go and get yourself killed? You could have figured out what happened to us.  We can't even raise the beacons.  What's happened to Earth?  The star is there but what about the planet?_

"Commander," Rob said.  

Adams, deep in thought didn't answer.

"Commander Adams," the Astrogator repeated, louder and more forcefully this time. "We are being scanned.  A ship, sir."

"At the speed we're traveling?  I know it's possible to detect our ship, but scanning? How are they doing that?"

"Unknown, sir."

"Radar confirms, sir," Ensign Anthony Wilson, hunched over the light-radar, said.  It's pretty far out, but it's gaining on us, fast.  At that speed, they'll be on us in two hours."

Immediately Adams moved over to the screen to take a look himself.  The Ensign was correct.  It was a ship, definitely alien, and moving far faster than they were and was now increasing its speed dramatically. "Gunnery, positions," he ordered.  "Blaster teams, start powering up your weapons."  He looked around at his anxious crew.  Everything that the book said had to be thrown out.  They were in completely unknown territory with very little hope of backup, being approached by unknown ship ten times their size.  

"This is a first contact situation," he informed his crew.  "The ship that appears to be following us does not conform to anything we've seen before.  They may not be hostile and we will try to communicate with them, but I want you stay on your toes."  

Altara moved towards the screen and observed the incoming ship carefully.  The young blond woman, age twenty-two as of a month ago, frowned at the image.  "John, I studied ship design for years.  In fact, it was a hobby of mine, but I don't recognize this one at all."

"That's good, because we don't either," he said to her.  "Tony, see if we can contact them."

"Aye, Skipper.  I'm powering up the Klystron transmitter now-ready."

"Hook in the universal translator," he ordered.

"Hooked and waiting," Williams replied.  

The entire crew was looking at him.  He smiled as much to comfort his and took a breath.  "Unidentified ship.  This is United Planet Cruiser _C-Fifty-seven-D_.  You are approaching on an intercept vector.  Please adjust your heading. If you can understand us please respond."

For a moment there was nothing, then the ship's vector began to change to roughly parallel the cruiser's course, matching their speed but not moving any closer.  "Sir we're getting a response.  It's on an unusual frequency.  I can barely make it out." He adjusted the frequency slightly.  "It's clearer now." He listened for a moment, and then his jaw dropped.  "Skipper, I think they're responding in English!"

_"…C-Fifty-seven-D_, this is the United Federation Starship _Yeager_.  I repeat you must change your trajectory," the heavy, male voice said.  "You are entering a war zone."

"This is Captain John Adams.  Who are you?  Your voice sounds human?  Are you from Earth or one of the colony worlds?"

"I am Captain Benjamin Sisko and yes, I am human and from Earth.  Do you have visual capabilities?"

Yes, Captain.  We need to modulate our signals.  You're transmitting on a rather unusual frequency, but our systems should be able to talk to one another."

As receiver and transmitter cooperated with one another, the visual transmission came through, blurry at first, then quickly changing into fine detail.  There were two human looking people onscreen, one a very imposing black, bald-headed male in his early forties and the other, a dark-haired woman with striking eyes, both wearing uniforms that he'd never seen before.  What little he could see of the bridge indicated that the technology or at least the engineering designs were radically different from what he was used to.  "Is Earth at war?" Adams asked.  "I've never seen uniforms like that before and your ship doesn't conform to anything on the Earth database.  Who are you people?"  His voice betrayed more than a hint of suspicion.

"Captain Adams, I am Captain Sisko and this is Doctor Deanna Troi," the man answered.  "Earth," he said, drawing the word 'Earth' out, "is at war.  There's a lot to explain and some of it may be rather hard to believe.  You are not where you are supposed to be."

"And what does that mean, Captain Sisko?" Adams asked.  "And exactly where are we supposed to be?"  By the tone of his voice, this Sisko knew that he didn't trust him for an instant. 

"Before I answer your questions, Captain, have you noticed anything different in your scans of the surrounding area-stars missing or added or in the wrong positions?  Does it seem as though your stellar maps are slightly off?"

Adams wasn't about to admit anything but his look had said it all.  Instead he muted the audio and looked towards his astrogator.  "Rob?"

"Confirmed, Sir," Robby answered.  "There is a three percent difference between our present scans and standard stellar coordinates.  My conclusion is that we are not in our universe."

If he weren't standing ramrod straight, he would have swooned.  _First the Krell, now this._  "That distortion we entered, took us somewhere else.  That's when everything changed."

"That is the logical conclusion at this time."

"Can we get back?" he asked Wilson, his science officer

"Sir, I don't even know how we got here in the first place."     

He and the crew were completely stunned.  Next to him, Altara shifted nervously as he reopened the channel.   "There have been some discrepancies between our scans and our maps," he admitted.

"You and your crew are victims of a temporal-spatial anomaly which temporarily joined your original universe to this one.  "You most likely passed through it six months ago and it brought you here."

Adams' mind reeled with the implications.   "Again, where is here?" he asked.   

This time the woman Doctor answered the question.  "It's hard to explain, but this quantum universe is similar to our own in many ways, but different in others.  Instead of a Federation of Planets Government, there is an Earth and the Government is called EarthGov and it resides over the Earth Alliance.  The seat of power is called EarthDom and the EAS or Earth alliance ships are part of EarthForce.  And right now it's at war with a government called the Centauri.  It is their territory you are about to enter."  She shrugged apologetically.  "The politics are complicated here, to say the least."

"Then we should turn around and go back through the anomaly and get back to where we belong," he said.  "This war has nothing to do with us."

"You can't get back by the way you came," Sisko said.  "It's closed off.  We attempted to to get back to our own reality. We tried and failed."

_Tried? Federation?_  His mind was in a whirl.  "You're not from this universe either," he concluded.

"No.  I was told of your presence.  That's how we found you," Sisko said.  "I would recommend that you not consider going to Earth at this time.  The government may decide that you and your ship are a valuable and exploitable resource."

Adams frowned.  "Exactly what does that mean?"  He didn't like the word 'resource' and the inferences it carried.  "Who told you where we were?"

"It doesn't matter, right now," he answered, politely ignoring the question.  "Your FTL drive is different from the hyperspace travel use by most people in this reality as are your weapons systems.  That is why you have not been noticed by the other powers here.  For all practical purposes, you are invisible to most scanning systems.   You might become a valuable commodity."

The crew of the cruiser didn't like those comments.  Plus there was the fact that this ship had scanned them and their systems so deeply without their knowledge.  All of them were feeling venerable.  

"There is a place where you'll be welcomed and you will be safe," the black Captain said.  It's called _Babylon Five_."  He smiled.  "Call it a port in a storm, because that is what you are in right now."

"Excuse me."  Adams cut communications.  Wilson was motioning for his attention.

"Permission to speak, Sir?"

"Yes."

"Sir, that was a load of crap," he started.  "No way we're in another universe.  There's got to be a better explanation than that.   Maybe they've somehow broken into our computers and changed our data."

"For what purpose?"

"I haven't the faintest idea, sir," Wilson answered.  "But did you take a look at the so-called Captain?  He's got the word  'killer' written all over his face."  

"So you think that they're pirates of some sort?"

Wilson's eyes turned icy.  "With the size of that ship out there?  It's quite possible that they're renegades."

Another crewmember in the background agreed.  "Let's not take any chances."

The Captain sat back down.  Essentially he agreed with the comments of his crew.  "Gunnery.  Fire on that ship if they approach any closer.  Wilson re-establish audio and video."

"We have them, sir."

"Thank you for your offer," he stated.  "However we will continue on our journey to Earth." 

*** 

Captain Sisko stroked his chin, disappointed by the Captain in the light gray uniform.  

Next to him, the Doctor was equally frustrated.  "They don't trust us," she announced, her empathic abilities picking up everything on the flying saucer in front of them.  "Specifically, they don't trust you.  They're not sure what has happened to them and they are all afraid, except the Captain.  He's suspicious, but wants to make the correct decision.  I feel that he wants to go to Earth, to talk to an established government."  

"That ship and its crew have to make it _B5,_" he said flatly.  

"We can't force them to come."

"True," he admitted, frustrated by the situation playing in front of him. "I don't want them firing on us.  That would just make the whole situation worse."

"You knew they were going to be here."

"Yes."

"The dreams?"

"Yes.  These people are going to be crucial to the coming fight."

"But how?" she asked.  "Their technology isn't quite as advanced as those in this universe.  I don't see what they can do."

"You might be surprised at what they can do," Sisko answered. He paused for a moment.  Then: "I won't press it, but we'll send them the data that we have and let them come to their own decisions."

Deanna sighed.  "Are you still in communication with the aliens?"

"No. They're gone, but, I do remember." It was a cryptic answer he gave her, he knew. But that was what he intended.  "Open a channel."  Again Adams came online, his body language exhibiting more antagonism than ever, something that Sisko noticed immediately.  He had all the signs of a man expecting a battle.  "Captain Adams, I am sending you a data packet detailing everything that we have encountered and the political situation.  What you do with it is your decision.  We hope to see you at _Babylon Five_.  Good luck."  He signaled to cut the channel.  

"You didn't give them time to respond," Lieutenant Commander Williams smirked.  He understood exactly what his Captain was feeling.

Sisko's eyes narrowed.  "They would not have responded positively to anything I had to say at this point.  They need time to adjust to the truth, just as we did.  But they are one tiny ship, all alone even more so than we and therefore Captain Adamswill err on the side of caution."  He waited for the Doctor to say something, but she remained silent.  "Plot a course to _B5,_ best possible speed and let the Klingons know we're coming.  I need to talk to Worf."

The _Yeager's_ warp engines powered up and the ship moved away from the flying saucer at warp nine.  

***  

Adams, and his second in command, now Lieutenant Wilson looked over the data sent to them with increasing concern.  In spite of their doubts, there was simply too much information that corresponded to their own preliminary findings.

"Did you see how fast they moved off?" He threw up his hands. "Six months ago," Wilson started, " if someone had told me everything's that happen since then, I would have called all of this a load of crap, but now…"  

Adams nodded slowly.  "I've been conferring with Rob and he agrees with much of the data we've gotten.  The whatever-it-was, closed behind us and I'm not sure if we should waste time trying to find it right now.  Even if only ten percent of this is true, Earth may not be the same place we knew."

"It also explains why we haven't detected any other ships since we started the return trip.  No eddies, no hyperspace gravity trails, nothing."  He continued looking of the data sent by the _Yeager_.  "It seems clear that these folks use an entirely different system to achieve supra light speeds.  And that made them and us affectively invisible to each other because we didn't know what to look for.  Now, we do.  So, Skipper, what'll we do?"

"If we are headed into a war zone, then first we will alter our course and try to remain as invisible as possible.  We now know what the Earth vessels look like.  If there are any this far out, then I want to make contact with them and get their side of the story.  If it checks out then, maybe they can help us get back."

"And if it doesn't check out?"

"Then we take a look at this _Babylon Five_," he said, frustrated by this situation.  "I don't know.  We'll have to take this one step at a time.  And," he added, "We'll keep one finger on the trigger.  I don't want to start a fight, be I will be prepared for one if need be.

"Aye, Sir."

"Robby, make a course correction here," he said pointing to the navigations console.  The system consisted of a transparent globe with a replica of the ship in the center.   Detailed info flashed onto the small console screen, constantly updating nav-statistical data.   "Then return to our original vector.  It'll put us two weeks behind schedule, but better safe than sorry.  And watch out any more visitors.

"Aye, aye, Skipper," the robot answered.

***

The Klingon battle cruiser _K'mpec's Honor, _upon discovering the Centauri Imperial shuttle drifting in normal space, should have vaporized it as per standard procedure.  It was somewhat of a surprise to see such an important ship unescorted, so close to _Babylon Five's_ space during these times.  The Klingon Narn squadron had split up with the Narns returning to _B5_ with First Citizen G'Kar, who had transferred from the Klingon ship to one of the undamaged Narn heavy cruisers.  The Drakh destroyers had taken a toll and the Klingons and Narn had been forced to retreat against their far superior numbers.  For the Klingons, it was good times all round.  The Drakh were worthy-if not honorable-opponents, even when they threatened to overwhelm the shields.  The fact that they callously flew and fired through the very convoy they were supposed to protect, gave ample evidence of their orders to destroy the Klingon vessel.  

The war had barely begun and already Earth Force was feeling the pressure.  The Centauri were technologically more advanced and experienced in space combat as compared to the humans of this reality.   And with their Drakh allies fighting so fiercely, it was entirely possible that Earth would lose the war and be subjected to the same sort of the treatment suffered by the Narn homeworld.  Illegal accelerated mass weapons had turned that planet into a wasteland, with tens of millions dead and hundreds of millions starving under the oppressive Centauri regime.  The Klingons were still an independent entity and the Centauri had fired the first shots against them.  And now they had just set a trap for Captain Koral's ship and the Narn vessels.  It failed, but just barely.  

The Imperial shuttle showed signs of having taken weapons fire and only four life forms were registering.  The Captain would have moved on, leaving them to their fate, but his first officer Commander Worf suggested-respectfully-that there might be worthy prisoners onboard.  Worf and three security guards, including one Narn materialized on the bridge and witnessed carnage.  They found that most of the occupants were dead from radiation poisoning, however four members situated well away from the damaged section had survived, two males, and two females.  To the shock of the Narn, one of the survivors was the former Ambassador of _Babylon Five_, Londo Molari.  He pointed his weapon that the Ambassadors head, but was stopped by Worf.  The man was an important prisoner and as such Captain Sheridan and his people would want to interrogate him, if he lived. Transporting the survivors, and tractoring the shuttle, they returned to _Babylon Five_.

***

First citizen G'Kar sat quietly in his quarters reading the diary that had been pulled from Mollari's clutches.  And pulled he mused was the correct word.  The man had it in a death grip as though his life depended on it.  Upon reading it he understood why.  He closed the diary and shivered; Sheridan and the rest would have to know and prepare.

***

Londo was immediately taken to the medical bay on _B5_, suffering from radiation poisoning, dehydration and multiple cuts and bruises.  Stephen's people worked on the majority of the injuries and Dr. Selar of the _Ambassador_ began radiation treatments, all under the watchful eyes of the ambassador's ex-assistant Vir Cotto and his guardian Marcus Cole.

"Will he be alright?" asked an anxious Vir to the doctor as soon as he came out of surgery.  

"We believe so," Stephen responded wiping his forehead.  "But he and the others took a pretty big dose of radiation and even with the new radiation protocols we've accessed from the Dr. Crusher, it'll be touch and go, for him in particular.  His cardiovascular system took another hit and if worse comes to worse we may have to replace one of his cardiovascular organs.   

The look on Vir's face made Stephen sigh.  He knew friendship when he saw it.  Even with everything that had happen, Vir was standing by him until the end.

"He's been calling for you, Vir," the chief of staff said.  " Evidently he was the one who altered course for _Babylon Five_, even if it was an automatic death sentence."

Vir stood speechless.  Stephen was correct.  Cartagia would never allow even a hint of dissent from his cabinet members.  Most of them were rumored to be dead and the others were to frighten to voice any objections to this pointless war.  "I need to talk to him," he said quietly.

Stephen nodded.  "Don't take too long, he's very weak."

"Okay," Vir's said, delighted that he would be allowed in.  "I promise this won't take long.  I mean, I understand that-"

"Go, before I change my mind."

The short Centauri lifted his hands up, compliant.   Slowly, with Marcus in tow, he entered the secured medical bay.  

Londo rested on the medical bed attached to monitoring equipment.  Doctor Selar watched over him administering some type of drug with an instrument he had never seen before.  She looked at him with cool eyes, raised an eyebrow and move away to give him some privacy.  The Vulcans really did remind him of the Minbari, but without emotions.  Well, that wasn't exactly true.  They did have emotions.  He could see that, but for some reason they covered it up.  He didn't understand why but one day he would ask, because they didn't seem as cold now as when he first met them.   

"Vir," Marcus whispered, breaking him away from his train of thought. He was pointing at Londo.

"Vir," Londo hissed through clenched teeth.  "Forgive me.  I didn't know what Cartagia was planning.  He's completely mad.  He'll destroy our people if he's not put down.  We must put a stop to this war, or we are all doomed.  The Shadows-my diary.  Sheridan must know.  Read my diary, Vir.  They will be coming."

Vir's hearts each skipped a beat.  A full-fledged attack, by Morden's associates was the one thing everyone feared.   "The Shadows are coming?  When?"

"Not the Shadows.  Read the diary."

"Where is it?"

***


	11. Londo's diary

**_Chapter Nine_**

****

Londo's Diary

Overhead, a photograph of Daffy Duck, Garibaldi's deity representing the Personification of Frustration according to Zack Allen, seemed to look down on him, accusing him of taking too long to pass along this most dire fountain of information found within the pages of Londo Molari's private diary.  But there was no choice, as he simply had to read it once more.  The first time, he merely glanced through it and the contents sent chills throughout his body.  Now he had to really _read_ it.  

Sights that once comforted now frightened him. Sitting on the floor, he plunged into the diary once more, all the while keeping one eye on the shadows that seemed to dance around in his room.  

_***_

_I write this in the hopes that someone may retrieve it and flee for their lives.  We have unleashed horror and I know it will consume us all.  I thought that nothing could have hurt me more than the death of my beloved Adira, now almost a year past, but I failed to understand the depth of the universe's hatred of me.  All those I have loved have been taken from me.  I have no friends, except Vir, the one I thought lost when my Emperor ordered _Babylon Five_ destroyed.  He, to my joy, has survived, along with the station and I find that even with the loss of so many of my people, my joy was not dimmed by that discovery.  _

_Understand that I have not cared for my life since my Adira was killed-poisoned by Lord Refa.  He thinks he has gotten away with this most foul of deeds but I have been waiting for the right time.  My time.  I want his death to be specific and I have a plan that will achieve this and perhaps buy me a measure of peace between G'Kar and myself. _

_I know G'Kar hates me, but his hatred is only that of one that expresses it towards another, not even a fraction of the self-loathing of one who is burned with eternal guilt._

_My actions have not been…honorable and I feel responsible for a war between his people and mine that cost the lives of millions of people.  At night, I find myself awake counting the number of Narn that have died as a consequence of my actions.  That Mr. Morden and his associates are responsible in part is not subject to doubt, but I cannot blame them for my own personal actions.  This is something that I must rectify for the rest to my life.  In this way, perhaps my punishment will be less severe.  When I meet my Maker, perhaps I will only swim in the blood of millions for the rest of eternity, instead of being forever drowning in it.  _

_In my Lord's wisdom, he made me Ambassador to Z'ha'dum.  I myself have been changed forever, for I have been there and no one comes from Z'ha'dum unchanged.  It was a most frightening experience to actually land on the planet and having the Shadow escort accompanying us into their ancient city.  To see them in the flesh is to invite madness.  They are an ancient power and they know and revel in this. _

_The city was as large as anything I have ever seen, with towers nearly a thousand levels high, shaped in ways that I could barely imagine in my darkest nightmares.  But we were not to go there, much to my relief.  We were instead brought to the visitor's quarters.  The rooms were remarkably mundane, but comfortable enough considering where we were.  And we were not alone.  There were dozens of alien species here, including humans like Mr. Morden and others.  I saw a woman who called herself Anne Sheridan and I briefly wondered if she might be a relative of John Sheridan.  But that is most likely not true.  Humans have similar names and one tiny letter in their last names could mean that they were of an entirely different family.  _

_They are a very odd species. One needs only to listen to their music to understand this._

_More than once I wondered, why were the Shadows interested in me?  I have since come to the conclusion that I was chosen because I was nothing but clay, something to be molded and shaped into the object they wanted me to become.  They could have chosen Refa, but he was too devious and greedy and for their purposes, they needed someone weak.  They needed someone like me and they played me like a musical instrument.  However it was now they who have been played.  The victory over the Vorlons had driven them insane with power.  Their ancient enemies were destroyed and the fruits of that victory in their hands.  And I have discovered that they have in their possession an ancient Vorlon artifact that had been lost in hyperspace for untold millennia.  They brought it here.  It could have been some sort of doomsday device but it was discovered to be a key.  But a key to what? _

_ That was the question on everyone's mind.  There was a rumor that the Vorlons had created a doorway to a higher dimension, another plane of existence.  They dared believed themselves gods and by creating this doorway, they would somehow touch the hand of God and thereby become gods themselves.  But the doorway was never opened and quickly lost and no one knew why.  Now it belonged to the shadows.  So, they pumped energy into the dead structure just to see what would happen.  The Shadows are by nature a cautious, intelligent race.  So it was unconscionable to me as to why they would do such a thing.  Later I understood why. _

_Somehow three shadow towing tugs were sucked dry of energy and that was when it began.  The doorway had been sucking energy from all available sources and slowly powering itself up._

_The Shadows were instantly aware that something was wrong when one of their larger vessels began firing a focused blast into what was identified as the artifact's energy collectors, causing it to glow with its new power.  The artifact gleamed so brightly that we could see its radiance from our window on the planet.  The Shadows began running haphazardly and frightened, and we wisely stayed in our respective rooms to prevent from being killed by the agitated aliens.  Apparently, several of the creatures had gone mad and the others were frantically trying to stop their fellows from destroying valuable power resources and military installations.  The place quickly  erupted in madness and even the visitors began attacking one another, seemingly for no reason or pattern.  _

_There was a pattern, it just was not clear yet.  My attaché Ramier, who I must confess that I didn't like much, began also acting strangely, even for him.  You see, he was more of a coward than anyone I have ever seen.  And the fact that he was an informant, who reported everything I said directly to the Emperor, did not help to endear him to me.  He was so unlike Vir that I took an immediate dislike to him the instant I we met.  Here we were, huddled inside the diplomatic quarters fearing for our very lives and he decides to open the door.  Insanity!  What was he thinking?  I ordered him to stop and he turned towards me and asked why wasn't I helping to prevent the Shadows warships from taking off? _

_Naturally, my response was typical.  I laughed in his face.  I couldn't help it; it was the best joke I had heard in a while.  But my laughter died in my throat when I looked into his eyes and saw that he was absolutely serious.  Immediately, my companions and I forgot all protocol and wrestled him onto the floor.  He fought like a madman, but I found a convenient vase and a moment later he was resting comfortably on the rug.  ___

_Sweating and now more nervous than ever, I lifted my weary bones off of the floor and was immediately assaulted from yet another source.  Each and every vid channel was focused on the artifact.  My two attendants and I forgot about Ramier, as we were transfixed by the vision of beauty on the screen.  The artifact had opened like some type tremendous locking mechanism.  It reminded me of a vault opening.  The light that exploded from the center of the object was bright enough to be seen from the surface. That it was a hyperspace conduit of some kind was unmistakable.  ___

_As we watched the spectacle with growing apprehension, we saw something else, a bright field of energy momentarily surrounding the object.  I remembered the energy field that surrounded the Federation battleship _Enterprise_ and its friends and assumed that this was essentially the same thing on a much larger scale.  It took me a moment to realize that the field should have been invisible.  Two shadow vessels had approached it and we watched stunned as two _things_ emerged from the center of the blue swirling light.  The cameras focused on it and we saw that they were small ships, probably fighters or scout ships of some sort.  They were quickly joined by two others, both of whom also took up defensive positions in front of the artifact.  ___

_There has always been a belief, I've been told, held by these Shadows, that anything Vorlon that touched Z'ha'dum would kill.  It was a superstition of course, a product of the hatred between the Vorlons and the Shadows races for untold millennia.  But right at this moment, I began to believe they were right.  _

_The Shadow ships wasted no time.  They attacked the intruders, destroying one ship and damaging another before the vessels could return fire.  I was dumbstruck by the scene playing out before my eyes.  The first Shadow ship withered under the combined retaliatory strike but it continued to fight back, destroying two more even as four more alien craft emerging from the swirl, joined their brethren.  The second Shadow ship wavered and shook like a drunken insect.  Then it fired on the first vessel!  We couldn't believe it!  The Shadow defender was caught on two sides and destroyed while the second shadow ship took up stationkeeping with the alien ships to protect the artifact. ___

_By now the entire city was in an uproar.  There was fighting everywhere as Shadows fought against themselves and other aliens.  Power systems dimmed as though being drained, which I found out later they were, the energy being shunted directly into the artifact.  We soon discovered that the artifact was somehow directly influencing people, causing them to attack and destroy anything not a part of them.  And the Shadows were not immune to this influence either.___

_That was enough for me to be convinced that we should immediately return to Centauri Prime.  I am sure that Emperor Cartagia would have wanted us to stay, a show of solidarity if you will and that was why I had no intention of asking him for instructions.  Quickly, we packed what little we could and started for the door.  The general consensus was that we leave Ramier resting where he was since no one felt like carrying him.  Good riddance.  _

_But before we could open the door the Vid images again paralyzed us where we stood.  There were dozens of shadow ships of every description converging on the Vorlon artifact.  By now, we there were at least twenty of the alien fighters, now being joined by three cruiser-sized vessels, shaped like nothing I have ever seen before.  They were thin with large energy balls attached to the rear where the engines should have been located.  Their firepower was unbelievable and it marked the start of a great battle as attackers and defenders begin destroying one another.  I can barely describe the carnage that occurred in those few seconds.  Large Shadow vessels crumpled and died under the brutal assaults of the alien destroyers.  The initial vessels finally died under the combined assault of no less than fifteen Shadow spider vessels, but five more of the alien battle cruisers transitioned the gateway.  They were supported by dozens of the fighters and a larger double ringed battleship.  ___

_That was the last thing I remember seeing on the visor.  I found myself running  towards the shuttle in my encumbering environmental suit.  Above me, the sky was full of Shadow vessels and flickering lights.  On the eve of their celebration of their victory against the Vorlons, they were involved in the greatest fight of their lives against an enemy with obviously superior firepower.  There were hundreds, no thousands of people running for the safety of their ships with only one purpose-to get away from the fighting.  I saw Shadow slashing people into pieces in their own desperation and madness.  The dark skies of Z'ha'dum were bright with explosions of dead and dying ships.  It had been less than an hour since the doorway opened, but already our scanners had counted over two hundred vessels emerging from it and more following.  Shadow warshipss were everywhere, thick enough to step on, trying to destroy the doorway and the ships spewing forth from them.   They were caught unprepared and now seemed to be losing, just as the first of the Drakh warships appeared, adding their firepower to those of their masters…_

_*** _

G'Kar slumped a little.  This was a side he'd rarely seen in Londo and what he would do or say about it would have to come later.  Right now, his mind whirled. What could destroy Shadow ships with such impunity?  And what did it mean for his people and the others in general?  

As in a trance, he continued reading.

*** 

_By then we were airborne, heading quickly to the safety of space and the nearest expedient jump point, with no other thoughts than surviving the next few minutes.  We were literally surrounded by dozens of different ships all trying to occupy the same area of space.  Ships crashed into one another and some even fired on each other trying to clear paths away from the fighting.  Shadow vessels in their rush to join their fellow combat ships destroyed many ships already in orbit.  Beams of energy sliced through them as the Shadows rushed to engage the enemy.  _

_But, by some miracle we found ourselves heading towards safety, dodging Shadows vessels, appearing from nowhere, hot and eager to engage the enemy.  More and more Drakh battle cruisers and carriers poured weapons fire at the doorway in a desperate attempt to destroy it.  But the shield held and the enemy multiplied like carrion beetles.   It must have been my imagination but I could have sworn that I saw two _Primus_ warships clothed in shadow armor rushing to defend Dum.  Now, I understand that my fear must have made me irrational during that terrible time and I was seeing things that could not possibly be.    _

_At that point, I did not care.  Space was rapidly filling up with broken ships, but we were somehow safely out of immediate danger from ramming and the energy discharges coming from our so-called friends and foes.  Suddenly, our ship turned towards the fighting once more!  I ran towards the cockpit and screamed as I saw the pilot struggling with the co-pilot.  Savagely, the pilot pulled a weapon and shot the co-pilot and continued the suicide run towards the nearest Shadow vessel with the intention of ramming it.  I yelled at him to turn around but he ignored me.  He kept saying that the Shadows would not be allowed to impede the great cleansing.  I did the only thing I could._

_I shot him.  Twice._

_I pulled him from the seat and took over the controls. Once more we raced for space.  With the help of the wounded co-pilot we opened a jump point, but were unable to use it.  A glancing blow from the enemy's plasma weapon hit our ship and we tumble out of control, being knocked away from our hyperspace entry point.___

_Dazed, I looked out the window at the planet.  I saw several bright flashes coming from the surface.  Planetary weapons fire, I assumed.  Then there was another much brighter flash that covered thousands of kilometers of the surface. Then there was another.  Terrified, I somehow regained control and together with the wounded co-pilot's help, we entered hyperspace just as an enemy vessel fired on us.  Than the Great Maker, It missed and we escaped. _

_For six weeks, we traveled at maximum velocity towards Centauri Prime.  But several members of our crew lay dead and dying from radiation poisoning.  With the ships' computer core damaged, we were barely managed to set the controls to auto–nav and retreat to a secured, protected cabin.  But before we secured ourselves, I had a choice to make.  Where _should_ we go?  Our beloved leader would not tell any of the others what we had seen.  He would simply save himself and leave our people to burn.  EarthGov would shoot us first and ask questions later.  The Minbari wouldn't even ask questions.  Who else was there?  We have made too many enemies.  In a choice of evils there was only one lesser evil.  Somewhere I could trust, even if they didn't trust me.  _Babylon Five_.  I secretly reset the nav coordinates and the auto controls.  _

_As I write this, we are slowly suffocating.  Our life support is failing, the air more foul  with each breath.  I don't believe we will make it to safety.    But the universe needs to know what has been unleashed on Z'ha'dum and I trust Sheridan and Delenn to do the right thing, even if they hate me.  Unless it is stopped, it will consume everything and despite what I feel and what I deserve, my little piece of the universe does not to deserve to burn.  I fear that this may be the end of us all.  I could feel them in my mind, telling me that everything was okay.  I didn't believe it for in instant.  Cartagia must know, Sheridan must know, everyone must know before it is too late.  They must be stopped.  The Shadows may have already fallen and Z'ha'dum will be only the first of many.  I have set the coordinates to the edge of B5_ _territory. If I don't survive he must be the first to know.  I trust him to…___

Londo had apparently become delirious as his writing became less coherent.  The ambassador had started rambling.  Sheridan must be informed.  In fact the entire alliance and needed to be informed of the contents of this diary.  If there were a grain of truth in this!  G'Kar closed the diary and quickly prepared for his meeting with Captain Sheridan.  As he left his quarters, Ambassadors Kosh of the Vorlon Empire, and Guinan of the Federation representatives waiting around the first corner, surprised him.  

"We must be united," Kosh said through his translator without preamble.  Next to him, stood Guinan as grim as he'd ever seen her. Then the telepath Lyta came running to catch up.  It was clear that they already knew what had transpired and what was in the diary.  "Show Sheridan," Kosh added.  

Oh yes, they knew.

*** 

John Sheridan was in the middle of a conference call with Captain Rachel Garrett when Kosh, Guinan, Lyta and G'Kar interrupted him.  Rachel was reporting that her sensors were picking up temporal and spatial disturbances from the general direction of Z'ha'dum and he needed to know more details.  He was momentarily angered, but only for a second.  The four of them together meant that there was something profound going on.  He was about to ask when the holographic image of Draal, the new master of the Great Machine of Epsilon Four appeared in the room.  

"We have to talk, John Sheridan," the Minbari said.  "It's Z'ha'dum…"

He felt the urge to sit.  This was going to be bad.

Lyta was talking more to herself than to the others but everyone could hear what she was saying quite clear.  "They are a power, older than even the Vorlons.  They are anti-life itself.  A horrible mistake…a horrible mistake…"

"Aren't they all?" whispered Guinan at an angry and frightened Kosh.

***

Of course – to be continued


	12. Time to Talk

**_             Chapter 10_**

**Time to Learn**

That they were all here felt as though it was a quorum and, with the exception of Delenn, these were the people John really needed to talk to right now.  This was no time to be coy.  

"I was in the middle of a report for Captain Garrett, who just basically told me the same thing.  Her astrometric's sensors have picked up a major spatial and possibly temporal disturbance in the area.  I don't need to tell you that that is almost three months full burn in jump space from here.  Anything big enough for her ship and obviously Draal's sensors, to detect means that it will eventually come and bite us on the butt.  The _Ambassador_ was going to investigate, but considering where it's centered, I don't believe that it's a very good idea."

Kosh's translator glowed brighter than usual.  "No," the translator module responded.  "If they go, they will die.  We must prepare."

"Ambassador Kosh?" Captain Garrett asked over the still open BABCOM channel.  "What's happening?"

"Anti-life," he said and the translator gave the impression that he was groaning when he said it.  "They are coming."

"Anti-life?  Exactly what does that mean?  Who are they?"

"They are power," Kosh said.  "Lyta will explain.  Learn John Sheridan, or you will die!"

Draal interrupted.  "I have been monitoring events of the war and this is what drew my attention to Z'ha'Dum.  The Lady Garrett is correct," said a grim-faced master of the Great Machine.  "The Shadows have obtained some sort of device that opens a door to another universe.  Not hyperspace, not our space, but another third type of space, if you will.  I have searched the data banks of the Great Machine but I have failed to find any real information on the device or who created it other than it is of Vorlon origin.  But once I discovered its presence, I have been monitoring it and this is what I have seen."  

Draal's holographic image disappeared and the world of  'Dum appeared in his place.  The dark planet flashed brightly, constantly as a major battle raged for its position.  They could see the Shadow vessels fighting against these unknown aliens for all they were worth.  Groups of Shadow ships were coming in, attacking, destroying and being destroyed at a faster and faster rate.  They were being supported by small but growing numbers of Drakh ships and several other types of war vessels from species no one had ever seen before.  To the left of the display was the huge, opened artifact, glowing brighter even as dozens of large destroyers and hundreds of their smaller ships laid waste to everything in their paths.  Z'ha'dum glowed with hundreds of fires large enough to be seen from orbit.  It was a planet under siege.  

Sheridan was both impressed and horrified at the devastation he saw, as was Garrett and G'Kar and the others.  "When did you acquire these images?"

"Within the hour," the Minbari said.  "The fighting is spread across the entire system.  Even as I am speaking, the Shadow fleets still in Vorlon space are racing home.  But the aliens have established a foothold and their power is like a stain spreading across the sector.  We may very well be witnessing the end of life as we know it."

"I'm impressed with your level of technology, Draal," Captain Garrett said as she gaped at the images. All of them could see the unbiased appreciation in her eyes.  "Your scanner resolution is far above anything we could achieve at this distance."

"The Federation is not the only advanced technology available in the area," Draal said, as his image reappeared.  The smile on his face said it all.  "You're arrogance is typical and you still have much to learn, but I have decided it is time for an exchange of information," he announced magnanimously.   "You're still human, no matter what universe you may be from.  But there is hope for you, more so than I previously realized.  Besides, I have enjoyed our long conversations.   And thank you Captain Sheridan, for sending the telepaths to me.  Their thoughts have been most enlightening.   But Ambassador Kosh is correct.  We must prepare and knowledge is power.  It is time for us to pool our resources."

"Yes," Kosh said.  "The time is now or we will be too late."  Although covered by his environmental suit, he still appeared nervous.

"But what are we dealing with?" Sheridan asked for perhaps the third time.  

He was momentarily startled as Garrett materialized next to him.  

"I can tell you," Lyta said.  She looked dazed but seemed to be recovering quickly.  "I have the memories of what happened in the Vorlon past."

He was only half-conscious of Rachel as the Captain had pulled her ever-present tricorder out and was intently taking readings on a glowing-eyed Lyta.  "You mean the Vorlons implanted those memories in you," John stated flatly.

"Yes," came the immediate answer.  "Call it a racial memory, if you will."  Her eyes began to glow as she fully accessed the artificial memories.  Then she started to speak, not as herself but as if she were apart of something else. 

"We," she stated, which everyone understood it to mean the Vorlons and not herself.  "Traveled throughout this galaxy, bringing order to chaos to the younger races.  We brought discipline as we appeared to the lesser races as beings of light.  We found ourselves being perceived as gods and in our arrogance, began to believe it.  We believed that we were superior to the universe that gave birth to us. That was our downfall, first of all of the transgressions-the error of pride and its' brother arrogance.  We felt that we no longer could be contained in this universe and that we were destined to become more than what we were in another higher plane of existence.  In our blindness we believed that this universe could no longer contain our glory and we decided, in terms that you can understand, to storm the gates of heaven."

"All of our wisdom and knowledge was utilized to open a door to another dimensional plane, a place we believed to be the Well of Souls, the Point of Origin, for all life. We wished to touch the face of God and in doing so become gods ourselves."

Garret's eyebrows rose as she struggled to close her opened mouth.  "What were you thinking?" Garrett practically yelled, interrupting Lyta's speech.  "How can someone be so smart and so stupid at the same time?  "Touch the hand of God?  We can barely get along with our own next door neighbors for most of the time without arguing with each other."  She shook her head in dismay.  "Back home, we had multiple contacts with advanced species-Trelane comes to mind-and most could only be described as entities, possessing vast intellect.  Most of there however were spoiled brats and when it came to common sense, they were idiots, or they had completely lost contact with their roots.  They had abilities and intellect we can only dream of, and to us, yes, they could be seen as gods.  But they weren't.  Most of them were as unstable in their own way as we are."

"We won't even talk about the Q," Guinan whispered within earshot of the Vorlon. 

Even though Kosh never moved she felt his eyes lock onto her.  She had told him of the Q of her universe and he mentioned to her of their counterparts here.  Neither of them had much of anything positive to say about them.  But this human was something different.

"You're merely human, barely into your toddler years in understanding or maturity," Kosh snapped at Garrett.  "You know nothing."

"Ambassador, with all due respect, I understand enough to know that age and knowledge alone does not insure wisdom or understanding.  If it did, you and the Shadows would have settled your respective differences long ago."

Kosh concentrated hard trying to surpass his anger, because the woman had touched on a grain of truth.  He felt strange speaking with an 'unprocessed' human, but in time he felt he could get used to it.   "Impertinent human," Kosh simply said, angered that this primitive human was sitting in judgment of him and embarrassed that in this case, she was correct.  They hadn't been mature enough to realize the utter foolishness of their actions.  They went in search of heaven and fell face first into hell.  

"Enough," Lyta said cutting through the rising tempers.  "You must understand.  We built a device, a doorway into another universe and so determined were we to get out that we weren't concerned what we might be letting in.  The doorway swung in both directions.  It was our mistake, now compounded by the Shadows.  It will soon be yours."

She had Sheridan's full attention now.  "What did you let in?" he looked at Kosh and in fact, everybody was looking at Kosh, who now seemed to slump without moving.  "What did you find?"

The telepath hesitated for a moment, gathering strength to continue the tale.  "They are a terror, a power beyond comprehension.  They are a hunger beyond understanding."  Lyta's eyes glowed even fiercer.  "They are anti-life itself, older than even we were.  Telepathic, all of them and they modified the gate so that they could influence others to do their bidding.  They created soldiers of our own people, willing to die for them!  

"We fought them back and disabled the device," Kosh added.

"When?" Sheridan asked.

"Five thousand of your years ago," she continued, "a thousand years before the Sun took your people.  We planned to destroy the device but some of our people, still under their influence dropped it into hyperspace and it was lost-until the Shadows found it."

"What do they want?" asked a completely enraptured Draal, before John or the others could.

"To destroy all life that is not their own," she answered at once.  "They believe that only they have the right to exist in the universe.  To them, all other life is inferior and must be exterminated.  In their universe, they have destroyed thousands of races and continue to destroy thousands more.  Because of our pride, they know we are here.  They telepathically watched us from within their dark cities waiting for a chance to come here and destroy.  They are connected to this universe somehow."

"So we are talking about another spatial intrusion.  Garrett grimaced.  "Is it just me?" she asked.  "Or is it a pattern forming?  This area of space seems to be a nexus of spatial weakness between the quantum universal strata.  This is at least the third incursion and more importantly, there is a temporal connection as well.  Everything is centering in this sector of space."

"They have come." Kosh said slowly, ignoring Rachel's sarcastic, but relevant comments.. "Here and now.  Z'ha'dum will be theirs and they will destroy.  The chaos plans against order have doomed them.  No help will come except their dark servants.  It will not be enough and they will flee or they will die.  Then the other races will die because there is no order to help protect them.  You must stop them, all of you.  Or you will all die."

"Both sides of the door must be opened for them to enter," Lyta said.  "You must close the gateway on this side and they will not be able to come through.  We've been searching for it for centuries, fearing that this day would come.  Now it has, and they pour through like locusts.  They must be stopped or hundreds of worlds will die."

*** 

Guinan listened quietly to every single word spoken by the altered telepath.  There were truths omitted, full explanations slighted.  The old saying that 'the truth is a three-edged sword' slapped her in the face.  "We can't negotiate with them?" she asked.  "Establish some sort of dialogue with them?"

Kosh's answer was instant.  "No, there can be no negotiations.  We tried, they refused."

_And exactly how did you try, I wonder?  _"Is there any chance that some of your people will return to help fight these beings?"

"My people have left for the Rim.  They will not return.  Only I am here."

To her left, Sheridan was pacing.   "We're going to have to get a ship there to get detailed information and report back.  But not the _Ambassador_, she's powerful enough to get out of trouble if need be; however politically, she's the wrong ship to go on this mission alone.  If our data is true, then EarthForce, the Minbari and the rest need to know what's happening yesterday."  He thought for a second. And once more, Guinan saw the weight of the world on his shoulders.  He was graying faster now as compared to what he first looked like six and a half months earlier.  And that reminded her.  She needed to have a talk with his wife.

"_White Star Three_ has finished undergoing the refit, correct?"

"The shields and the warp drive units are fully functional," Garrett announced.  "The transporter units are installed, but haven't been fully tested yet."

"Good," he announced as he touched his comlink.  We'll work on them during the journey." He activayed his com-link  "CnC, this is Sheridan.  Captain Hiroshi, contact EarthForce.  I want to talk to General Brindley.  And Captain, I have a mission for you."

Guinan touched the sleeve of G'kar who now moved forward.

"I have Londo's diary," the Narn said.  "The information contained within it may shed some light on our current situation."   He opened the book and began reading to a silent, enraptured audience.

***

Sheridan fought, but lost the battle for sleep that night.   Londo's diary hinted at something that none of them wanted to contemplate.  After an hour of trying he gave up, put on some civilian clothes and began to walk the station.  It was the time when the station was the least active, and he found himself relatively free to walk and think without necessarily being noticed.  In a small shop near the Zoccalo, he ordered a coffee.  It was steaming hot and flavorful, a gift of replication technology.   Now that the supplies were coming directly from _Babylon Five _stores, he could barely remember a time when it wasn't like this.  It was as though the mind was slowing eliminating the memories of the stuff that passed for coffee.  

He relaxed as he continued drinking the flavorful liquid.  That was something he sorely needed at this time, or he believed that his mind would burst.  The stresses of the breakaway were getting to him and he didn't know how much more he could have dealt with if it hadn't been for Susan, and Sandra, Michael and Stephen at his side, supporting and offering advice when he needed it the most.  He wished that Delenn were here.  She was his rock, full of wisdom, and humor.  And she had lied to him, after a fashion.  His wife was alive, but she wasn't here.  That woman was something else, a person he'd never seen before.  And the most frightening thing was that she seemed to know where he was at any given moment. 

-Such as now.

Anne knew his patterns, in fact had studied them intently.  She never missed an opportunity to talk to him.  And the more the woman chased after him the more alien she became to him.  But as of right now he needed to talk to her, specifically to gauge her reaction when he told of the Centauri diary.  When she came into the room, he smiled devilishly at her and invited her to sit before she could ask.

She was immediately suspicious.  "John, what's the matter?  What's happened?"  Her face was full of concern, the same type of concern G'Kar had for Londo when he found out that it was Londo who had sentenced his people to orbital bombardment.  

"I've received several reports, today," he started.  "They all collaborate the fact that the Shadows have come under attack."  He watched her reactions.  

Her face never changed.  "The Shadows have defeated the Vorlons.  It's no way they could develop a counter attack strong enough to hurt them."

"It's not the Vorlons, but someone else."

"No one can hurt the Shadows," she answered confidently.  "Anyone who would dare try would be defeated and their worlds destroyed in retribution."

"Are you so sure of that?"

"Yes," she immediately responded.  "They are dangerous, John, perhaps the most powerful of the old ones ever known ever to stride this galaxy.  But they aren't foolish.  Anyone who would dare to attack them is doomed to fail.  I wanted you to talk to them, get their point of view.  If I asked you once more, would you come with me to Z'ha'dum?"

"No."

"But you'd go with Delenn."  It wasn't a question, simply a statement of fact.  "Your feelings for her have supplanted what little you had left for me.  If she asked-"

"Yes, I would," he answered before his ex-wife could complete her statement.

"That is the reason why I hate her."  She was trembling.  "Not for the fact that she loves you, but that you love her and would do anything for her."

"You've lost you capacity to love and feel for another person, Anne.  I don't blame you.  I do blame those that did this to you, but not you.  You didn't have a choice in all of this."

"John, look at me," she whispered.  "What you've just said is a lie.  If you would just trust me this once, you could be made to understand the real truth.  We could have a wonderful relationship.  My feelings are just as strong as ever.  I could learn to love you as much as the other Anne ever did.  All of her memories are in me and I can recall all of the good times."

John was overcome by a profound sadness.  Again it slammed home, that this woman truly wasn't him beloved.  "How could I have a relationship with someone who only knows and who speaks about herself in the third person?" he asked.  "Why would you even want a relationship with someone you don't know?  Is it a memory, a feeling, something that you feel is missing in your life?  Or," he added, "is it something you've been ordered to do?"

Her eyes wavered for a second.  "I am what I am," she said.   "I've said it so many times, John.  I'm a different person.  I've never denied that, and it was my hope that you would eventually realize what an opportunity it could be for us.  This Anne, the woman I am now,  could be your every dream."  She seemed lost in thought for a second.  "And if that's not enough," she shrugged.  "Then to show you my sincerity, I would consider sharing you with Delenn, if you come to Dum to me."

Stunned, he looked at her and a new revelation struck him.  The last of the doubts, the last twinges of hope, all the confusion, evaporated.  There was only sadness for the person sitting in front of him, another victim of this war of darkness.  Truly his wife, Anne no longer existed.  "Thank you," he said to her finally.  "For helping me to understand."

Confused and caught off guard, she stood up form her chair.  "What are you talking about?"

"Exactly," he answered her as he finished his coffee, got up and walked out, feeling better than he had in a long time.

** *****


	13. Cracks in the Armor

 Chapter 11  Cracks in the armor 

EarthDome:

President Morgan William Clark's mind sat on the edge of a void. The Presidential office was dark, the curtains closed, allowing no sunlight to enter the room.  Within the room sat one man, the would-be ruler of the world.  Several white noise generators were strategically placed within the office to prevent one of his enemies from successfully bugging the office.  On the planet he ruled, the most powerful man on Earth could trust no one.  Everything that he had worked for these last few years threatened to slip through his fingers.  

Psi-Corps' betrayal had been a wake up call.  He was too complacent with them.  It was understood that they couldn't be trusted, but he'd forgotten whom he was dealing with and now, his ex-allies were gone, escaped to _Babylon Five_ with the aid of members of his own military.  The Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Justice, Nightwatch, Morden, his own personal guards, none were to be trusted.  Even with the extraordinary precautions he had arranged to ensure his survival, he rarely slept at night without medication these days for fear that someone would come to assassinate him.  

For a man like Morgan Clark, the Vice-presidency had never been enough.  A truth that he always understood was that for him, power was an intoxicant.  Being relegated to number two under a man he despised and knew to be weak was something that he could have never endured for long.  Despite everything he had done to influence the election, Santiago had still won the Presidency.  The Vice-presidency was like being a ghost; lots of prestige but very little power, unless one could manipulate things behind the scenes.  That was where true power lay.   But Santiago was too smart, even too dangerous a man to game-play with.  Morgan's desires for power gradually slipped away.  That's when the fulfillment of all of his dreams stepped into his life.  Mr. Morden offered him a way to possess more power than he'd dream possible and now he had it.  The price though, was high.  

He couldn't sleep at night anymore.  

To be so close to being the first real world ruler, yet have it wrenched away by the Sheridan rebellion festered within his mind like an open sore.  That it wasn't truly the Sheridan rebellion, but a coalition of military and political enemies united against him didn't matter.  The _Babylon _station now represented everything that was trying to take his possessions away.   As long as it existed outside his control, it remained a symbol of his failure to control humanity and therefore his destiny.   He should have destroyed it when he had had the chance.  Months ago, it was an inconvenience at best; now it was a real power to be reckoned with.   The resources needed to re-acquire the station in its present state would prove to be politically and militarily cost ineffective.  

Restless, he began to bite his nails, already at their nubs, once more.  The station simply underscored the multitude of problems he now faced.   His political enemies had retreated into the base population and the others escaped off world.  Whether friend or enemy, they all headed towards the same place, _Babylon Five_.  They weren't gone, just relocated to the one place where he dare not attack directly, not yet.   The whole universe seemed to revolve around the station.  How he had come to hate that place!

The war grated at him as well.  The Centauri almost destroyed the entire fleet at Proxima III.  Even with the Shatterfist array and his newly built _Omega X's _as support, EarthForce had nearly lost the battle.  Every single ship suffered significant damage in one way or another and only with the help of the resistance and those hated Federation ships had his fleet survived.  The conclusions were obvious-Morden's associate's lied to him.  They said that he would have help against the enemies of Earth.  They had also said that _Babylon Five_ would be given to him.  The bugs lied to him and he was no longer the master of his destiny.  He trusted in outside forces to give him his dreams and they deserted him.  Sheridan and the others had stolen his moment of glory.  Things were spiraling out of control.   He was no longer the master.  

Sheridan had requested that General Brindley come to the station and the only thing the President of Earth could say was yes.  If the reasons were true and the Shadow homeworld was indeed under attack, then he would have to ally himself with his Earth enemies and the Minbari also.  But EarthForce had no knowledge of events happening in the sector of the Shadow homeworld and as much as he wanted to ignore the rumors, he had to find out as quickly as possible, or his so-called military would find a way to have their President eliminated.  

He'd kill everybody before he would let that happen.  

He would send Brindley, but because Sheridan asked for him personally, the General could no longer be trusted.  Loyal or not, that request alone assured his purging.  He moved around his desk, thinking hard.  A plan half formed and he relaxed.  "Get me Captain Clark," he ordered.

A half hour later, there was a knock and a lone figure was allowed entry.  The woman who entered was tall, dark-haired and had piercing blue eyes.  The woman was gorgeous.  Clark almost trusted her.  Relatives always came through for him.

"You need a tan, Mr. President," she said to him.  Her eyes sparkled in the pale light of the room.  "You have to get out more.  Let the people see you instead of hiding in here in the dark like some kind of vampire.  This is your opportunity to gather the support of the people, cousin, and your missing out on it."

Her words had a grain-actually more than that-of truth.  But he wouldn't dare.  He didn't want to be shot like Presidents Kennedy, Reagan and Kinsey (they actually fired a missile at him to make sure they didn't miss).   "I didn't call you here for a consultation, Charlotte."  

"You never listen anyway.  You're trying too hard.  The people will flock towards you if you simply look like the leader you pretend to be."

"It's my decision, my power," the man hissed.  "I am in control."

"If you say so, Morgan," she whispered softly.  "Is that why you want me to get rid of another obstacle for you?"

"Mr. Morden and his associates promised and failed to deliver."

"He's always kept his promises to us," she agreed.  She shivered as she said that mans' name.   How she hated him-and her cousin, too.  "And I will honor my promise to them and to you."

Morgan nodded enthusiastically.  "You and your ship will accompany General Brindley and the EAS _Charon_ to _Babylon Five_.  There, I want you to kill Brindley and destroy the Federation ship anchored there.  They won't be expecting an attack and my sources tell me that their main weaponry can't be used at ranges closer than five hundred meters.  What they do have will not be able to penetrate your ship's armor in time to save them." 

"You're crazier than I thought," she yelled at him.  " Did you see the recordings of the Proxima III battle?  Ineffective at five hundred meters distance?"  She started laughing.  "My ship will have to get first strike at point blank range.  We'll lose everything and most likely I won't get out alive.  And even if by some miracle, we manage to get away, _B5_ and the Federation will hunt my ship down and then come after you.  It'll crack the alliance we have with them wide open.  

_I hope so_ he thought.  _If they do then the military will fight hard to protect their President.   No foreign force will be allowed to attack this legitimate government.  They, all of them will be discredited and it will give me time. _  

"You'll survive because the Shadows will secure your ship's escape," he laughed.  I'm making arrangements with Morden now," he lied.  "Together we will broker a peace between Earth and Centauri Prime.  The war will end and you will be safe and by my side."

"This is not a wise move, Mr. President."

"It's an order, Captain Clark.  Or should I request someone else to do it?" 

Despite her look of defiance, she blanched at the threat.  "What about the _Charon_?" 

"Expendable," answered the President.  "The Captain's transmission to the small ship, the _Yeager_ several months ago has been analyzed and we believe it was a staged event.  The opinion is that he is a turncoat and that his crew is in league with Brindley.  This request to find out what's happening on Z'Ha'dum is a ruse to get together with the others and plan against me."  He began to pace the length of the huge office as he continued.  "The Shadows are too powerful for anyone to defeat them.  The Vorlons are all dead or running, taken out by the Shadows.  This whole reconnaissance is a charade.  I want Brindley dead and a Fed ship destroyed.  The people must know that _Babylon Five_ is not invincible."

"And that your reach is long when it comes to your enemies," she added quietly. 

"Yes.  Now go do your job."

"You are so melodramatic," his cousin told him.  "I respectfully request that you reconsider this order, Morgan."

"I am a survivor charlotte, and your '_respectful'_ request is denied," answered.  "Leave and do your job."

He watched her leave and he whispered goodbye.   He expected her to die fulfilling her mission.  If all went according to plan, Charlotte would be killed, Brindley, who was increasingly against the planned Federation assault, would die and one of the hated Federation ships would be damaged at the least.  _Babylon Five_ would be humiliated and crippled as one of its capital ships would be rendered useless and most of all, the people would once again fear his reach.  Now he would wait for Mr. Morden to contact him.  

Previous calls hadn't been returned, but they would be soon.  They always were.  However deep down, there was a little voice which doubted.

*** 

Not surprisingly, General Brindley was relieved to be leaving EarthDome.  His credibility had waned significantly when he first suggested that Earth Force might want to take a less proactive stance against _Babylon Five_ and the Federation crew.  Almost overnight, his influence wavered, his calls began to go unanswered and his command of the Proxima III fleet was taken away from him.  Various members of Nightwatch had shadowed him more than once.  The Ministry of Justice watched him and his closest friends, some of whom quietly suggested that he watch his back, began to avoid him.  Now, onboard the _Charon_, looking at his beloved Earth receding in the distance, he suspected that that may be the last time he ever saw it.  He was a marked man and he knew it.  Dissent was not tolerated in the Clark regime.  The President and his cronies had it in for him.    

"Three days," Captain Anderson whispered to him.  

The tall dark African American male stood by his side for perhaps fifteen minutes, saying nothing.  The General didn't know the Captain as well as he would have liked.  But both of them were on the same boat, so to speak.  The mere fact that he had spoken to Captain Sisko in a half civilized manner months ago had condemned him in the eyes of Clark, who demanded a scapegoat after the Brakiri incident. Anderson, after his last mission was reduced to guarding the local jumpgate.  This was his first out-mission since then.

"Three days," the General repeated.  Next to them was an _Omega_ variant, dark,and menacing against the swirling eddies of jumpspace.  "I see we're being escorted."

"Yes, sir."

The modified _Omega-X_ followed them into the swirling maelstrom of hyperspace on a heading that would take them to the _Babylon_ station.

"I have no idea, Captain."  

"What, Sir?" 

"This mission to _B5_," the General answered.  "Sheridan requested me specifically, the higher ups agreed and I don't know why." 

 "Permission to speak freely, Sir?" the Captain whispered.

 "Yes."

 "I don't understand why I was picked, either.  That incident with the _Yeager_ effectively ruined my career.  It if hadn't been for the war, I wouldn't be here right now.   And there have been rumors about you-"

 "Clark is scared and any dissent has met with instant retaliation, except in my case.  The Psi-Corps aren't there to help him and he's paranoid."  Thoughtfully, he stroked his chin.  "I don't trust Sheridan and he doesn't trust me, but for some reason he wants me there.  The disappearance of the Drakh all along the front lines has bothered and surprised everybody and that may be why Sheridan wants to see me.  The Centauri are still a handful but they've developed a more defensive posture as of late.  And there's no way that they can fight both the Minbari and us at the same time.  On the other hand, it could be some sort of trap." 

 Silently, both men considered the implications.   Standing ramrod straight, Anderson whispered once more.  "A lot to think about.  I suggest we watch each other's back, Sir."

 "Yes, Captain.  We'll have to."

  ***

 Centauri Prime:

 "You hate me," Emperor Cartagia announced majestically to his once advisors and critics.  They were all dead now, their heads, slightly bloated now, floating serenely in   thick liquid, inside transparent jars.  Their eyes were swollen in purification, staring accusingly at their murderer.   "It wasn't my fault that you died.  You should have known better."  He began to laugh hysterically.  "If you had only advised me better, I wouldn't be in this situation and you wouldn't be dead.  But no," he continued.  "You plotted against me and the people have suffered. The Drakh have abandoned us.  The Shadows are gone and there are no answers."  

 He stared at the heads floating serenely in their individual jars.  "Why have they abandoned Us?"   He cocked his head as though expecting an answer.  To his horror and growing madness, one of them did.

_" We didn't abandon you,"_ the voice said.  "_You killed us as you had your Uncle killed."_

 The madman laughed long and hard.  "I didn't kill him.  He died of natural causes!"

_"He died from his broken hearts.  Apparently he didn't like the direction his people were going," the disembodied head whispered. " He hated the war with the Narn and everything it represented.  He went to offer peace to the Narns, to open up a dialogue and to say on the behalf of the Centauri people, he was sorry."_

"No," Cartagia answered.  He had to control himself to keep from hyperventilating.  "My Uncle, the Emperor of the Centauri republic, would have never said that.  Peace with the Narns?  Ridiculous!  He was never that weak."

"_He was tired of the war and what it had done to both of our people and because you were his son, he told you everything.  He knew he was going to die.  He wanted to make a difference and you hated him for it."_

"My Uncle was the Emperor.  There was nothing I could do to change his mind," he explained to himself.  "I labored for days trying to convince him of this folly, but he only smiled at me."

  __

_"Yes and when he died, you knew that he not chosen you as his successor, so you manipulated, bribed, or murdered your way to power, killing anyone who stood in your way, including your younger brother.  We, your trophies are testament to that.  So, now you have achieved everything you wanted.  How does it feel to be a living god?_  

 "I am ascending," he answered.  "I see so many things that I could never have conceived before.  Soon the universe will see my glory.  Can't you see it?"

_ "We see nothing,"_ several voices responded, adding theirs to the first one.  "_We are dead."  _

"Even the dead shall soon see my radiance.  That's why you speak to me now."  Cartagia began to relax in the darkened room, his thoughts clearer now.  "Now, tell me why have the Drakh left?"

_ "You're a god.  Tell us."_

The Centauri leader rose to the challenge.  "I believe that the Shadows may have required them for some special mission.  Perhaps they were needed to root out isolated pockets of the Vorlons that may still remain in our sector of space.  But the war with Earth remains a problem.  By themselves, they are nothing.  We can defeat them as we have the pitiful Narn."

_"Are you so sure?"_

"I will admit they do have resources, but they will submit to Our will soon enough.  But the Minbari federation is another problem.  I did not anticipate that the Shadows would draw us into direct conflict with them.  The Drakh are powerful and have kept the Minbari at bay but with them gone-"

_"Then our military will suffer defeat and our worlds will quickly join them.  The Minbari will not take these actions lightly.  In their vengeance, they may well destroy the Empire and you will be punished."_

 "But we didn't attack them," the Emperor of Centauri protested.

_"No, our allies did.  They and you have brought this on us.  Therefore, what are you going to do, god Emperor?"_

 If he were a god he reasoned, then why did he feel afraid?   

"I will attack and destroy the Terran homeworld as we did Narn.  It will be a lightning strike; something unexpected and the humans will kneel before me.  I will have the grand fleet prepared and we will end this conflict.  Then we will concentrate and consolidate our forces to deal with the Minbari, alone, if necessary."

_"A bold plan,"_ the voice said as if agreeing with Cartagia's logic.  _"But what about the Federation ships, two of which are powerful enough to butcher heavy battleships as though they were small frigates?  And what about the Klingon ship, which destroyed and eluded the Drakh you sent to destroy it?"_

"There is no Federation," he spat.  "That is a lie.  However, I will admit the ships are a nuisance, but Clark's secret weapons have been exposed to the galaxy."  The balance of power had shifted to the humans and unless something was done quickly, many of the races including the Centauri would be left behind.  _Babylon Five's_ arsenal was case in point of the growing Terran threat. 

  __

_"And what happens if the humans find out your grand plan and come here to destroy us even as your plan takes effect?  Will the Shadows protect our home?  They've all left.  What of Londo?  He has not contacted you and no one has heard from any of those on Z'ha'dum?   What if there is a Federation of human and alien colonies somewhere in the depths just waiting for the opportunity to come and dominate this part of space?"_

"If, if there is a Federation, I will find them and punish them severely.  Londo is a fool, but he is loyal," he replied uneasily.  In his position, no one could be truly trusted, not even the dead, obviously.  "Nevertheless, I will admit that your questions do have merit.  Perhaps we should maintain our defensive posture a while longer. I may even send envoys to the Minbari.  After all, we have not attacked them in any way.  It may be possible to prevent full blown war with them, if I act now."

_ Of course, you can_ the first voice that counseled him said.  _"The Minbari are a wise and intelligent race.  I am sure that once you explain it to them, they'll accept your heartfelt apology so that you can move on to grander things." _

 Cartagia didn't believe it for a moment.    

 *** 

_ Babylon Five:_

Three _White Stars_, several resistance cruisers and the _Enterprise_, exited the Epsilon jumpgate and took up respective positions around the five-mile long space station that had become their home.   The area was packed with ships of all descriptions, far more than usual.  Many were refugees.  

"_Babylon Five_ control to Bab-Fleet One.  Welcome home."

"This is _White Star_ Two," Commander Ivanova said.  "Captain, it's good to be home.  Have we missed anything?"

"Do you even need to ask?"  

"You mean, why do I even bother to ask?" she corrected.  "I don't know, I guess I'm a masochist.  I like pain and suffering."

"Then you're going to love this," he answered.  "I want to talk to all of the Captains in two hours, be there, Sheridan out." 

"I'll be there."  She eased herself off of the Captain's chair and stretched.  She was feeling wonderful. She wanted to come to her room, grab something to eat, change clothing, then listen to the bad news.  But first, Picard had wanted to see her.  

The _White Star_ transporter beamed her over to the _Enterprise_ where she swiftly found herself in the Ready-room where Picard was waiting.   

Facing him, she smiled.  "I love that thing."

"I'm glad you like it," he said.  "It does have its uses."

"Yes, Sir," she answered.  "You wished to talk to me?"

"I have a problem, Commander.  It concerns the battle at Proxima."  Susan tensed as she realized that he was groping for the correct words.

"Did something go wrong, Sir?"  By the way he looked at her, something was wrong.  "Captain, what's going on?"

"This is off the record, unless you choose for it to be otherwise," he started.  

Susan felt a chill in the air.

"Commander, your actions during the battle of Proxima III bordered towards irresponsibility," Picard said.  All pretense of civility was gone from him.  In its place was a cold Command officer about to slam-dunk a subordinate.   

"You recklessly endangered your ship and your crew on numerous occasions.  You left the other ships under your command to attack those Drakh vessels-vessels that had the firepower to break your shields and destroy your vessel.  As leader of your battle group, you endangered their lives and the lives of your crew needlessly."

"How dare you!"  She was screaming and right now, she could have cared less.  "I did my job out there like everyone else.  You don't have the right to judge my actions out there.  Those crew and our ships know every time we go out there that we may no be coming back.  My job is to make sure that they do and that's exactly what I did!"

"Commander," he yelled back.  The fury in his tone actually intimidated her.  "You attacked without regard to those under your command.  You did not do your job. Instead, you allowed your passions to get in the way and almost got the people under your command killed.  If you were Starfleet, at the very least I would have a severe reprimand placed in your record.  But you are not.  Instead you are Second-in-Command of a besieged station that is fighting for its very survival.  Therefore, I will only offer you some well needed advice," he said, stopping her before she respond.   "In order for your crew to trust you with their lives, they need to know that you have their interests in mind in the middle of a fire fight.  You will have to control your rage, or it will destroy you."

She wanted to hit him, to curse at him, choke the life out of him, or all three at the same time.  But as much as she hated him for it, he was right.  Her actions almost caused her death once before.  She was so eager during the battle for _Babylon Five_ that she nearly failed to eject in time before her damaged Star Fury destroyed itself.  She thought of this in an instant, but her face remained a mask of indignation.  "Are you going to report me?"

"No, Susan," Picard stated.  "It is my responsibility to inform you what I've seen of your actions.  Captain Sheridan is responsible for you.  The consequences for your actions will be determined by him.  I will give him detailed records of the battle, for analysis.  What he does will be up to him.  You are an excellent officer, Ivanova.   But you need to control your passions."

 "You mean suppress it like you do yours," she retorted.

"There are times when passions must be controlled," he answered.  "We do whatever is necessary for our ships and those who serve under us.  It's the price we pay for command, Commander."   

"Anything else Captain?" she asked coldly.

"Listen to what I'm saying," he continued, trying to get past her defenses.  "I have seen many good Captains die because they allowed their emotions to interfere with their judgment.  You did well out there, Commander.  But we don't want to lose you, also."  

It must have been the tone of his voice, but she was calming down slightly.  How many times had she told those under her command the same thing?  However she felt that now was not the time to admit it.  "I'll do what I have to do, Captain."

Picard sighed.  "Transporter room, lock onto Commander Ivanova and beam her to her ship."

 "Aye, Sir."

 The last thing she saw before she faded away was Picard looking worriedly at her.  That crack in his demeanor surprised her and would in the coming days give her a lot to think about because she knew that the other shoe might well drop on her head.

 *** 

  TBC


	14. Choices: Daniel and Delenn

**_ Chapter 12_**

**Choices:  Daniel and Delenn**

The more Captain Adams saw of the scans of the surrounding sectors and the information provided by the crew of the _Yeager_, the less he liked and the more confused he became.  But they had to do something.  The Captain gave the order and they had jumped into normal space after they confirmed that the readings of the mammoth space ship in front of them, was indeed an Earth cruiser, in fact was one of several this deep in space.  Nothing in the United Planet's military compared to what they were seeing right now.   But the scans were confirmed; the crew onboard that ship, human.  And they had to find out more information to make a valid decision for himself and his crew.  

 The vessel jumping from hyperspace into normal space simply seem to appear in front of the EAS destroyers which began powering up defensive weaponry systems.

"To Vree saucer.  You are in a war zone.  You are to move of to a distance of-" The transmission halted abruptly as scans revealed that the ship, although superficially resembling the standard Vree ship configuration, was indeed something completely different.  

"Identify yourself," the voice ordered.

"This is the United Planet Cruiser C-57-D from the planet Earth, John Adams commanding.  Please identify yourself."

"I am Captain Daniel Schall, of the EAS Nimrod."  There was absolute silence for a moment.  "Do you have visuals?"

"Affirmative," Adams responded.  A few moments alter, as the signals synchronized, both Captains found themselves facing one another.  Schall looked startled and a bit confused, but no less so than Adams.  "I've never seen a ship like yours in the United Planets Corps."

"Forgive me Captain.  We first assumed that you were a Vree spaceship, but we've never seen anything even close to your ships' systems.  We've never heard of the United Planets."

The small saucer moved closer to the _Nimrod_.  Beside them, two _Hyperions_ moved to flank the small ship.  

"It's kind of hard to explain," Adams said.  He was still a touch disoriented from the deceleration protocols.  "Approximately six months ago, we encountered a stellar phenomenon of some sort.  It ah, well pulled us from where we were to where we are now," he added sheepishly.  'I know it sounds crazy, but we seem to be from another universe.  And we're trying to get back.  We're headed towards Earth to see if your people can help us get back."  There was complete silence from the other end.  "I understand this sounds strange, Captain Schall," Adams said.  "But we have no reason to lie."

But Schall wasn't looking at Adams, but in fact he glared past the man at the 'thing' behind him. 

It couldn't be!  

"What exactly is that?" he asked, pointing past him towards the main console.

"That is our astrogator, Robby.  It's a robot." 

Stunned, Schall simply gaped.  It was small proof, but still proof, ala _Enterprise_.  Earth had nothing close to that level of technology.  Building practical-functional robots was hard despite what the best engineers and technicians said.  None of the working models looked like what he was seeing now.  What caught his attention though was that it looked like someone had put it together in someone's home lab, in his or her spare time.  That spoke volumes.  After those incidents, a brick wasn't required to hit him to see the obvious.   

"Do you have shuttle capability?"  Six months ago, he would have called the captain a liar or a lunatic, but recently things had changed drastically and he now approached things with a much more open mind, this obviously being a first contact situation.  He didn't want a repeat of history with these people.  He wanted to see these people in person.  

"No," we do not have shuttle capability.  This ship is atmospheric."

Schall was in a quandary at this point.  His ship was one of the blockade ships that, under Clark's orders, had contained and isolated the colony on Proxima III before the colony was destroyed and the fleet stationed there nearly wiped out.  To say that he was a loyalist would be considered an understatement, but now, with everything that happened on Earth, with _B5_, and the Centauri, his loyalty was now become questionable.  The possibilities of finding another vessel originating from another reality were almost astronomical.  If EarthDome found out about this ship, he would be immediately ordered to bring it in.  That would be repeating the exact same mistake that had been made with the Federation ships.  The rumor mills were flying and although he was never one to be caught up in such trivial pursuits, he knew that Earth was not the safest place for these people, not that he really cared.  Their technology would be stripped from them and what fate awaited these people there, he did not want to imagine.  That brought a fresh wave of anger coursing through him.  He wasn't supposed to have to be concerned about what EarthDome might do in the first place.  Duty was simple.  You followed the orders of your superiors and that was it.   The secession of Proxima III colony was wrong.  EarthGov had the right to blockade and force them back into the rightful hands of the government.  The bombing of Mars had been a little heavy handed, but he understood the reasoning.  

That was then.  

Now, the President was preparing for an all-out assault against the Centauri holdings, with complete and utter disregard for the facts that the Centauri and their allies could very easily wipe out the fleet therefore leaving Earth holdings completely unprotected and vulnerable to attack by a host of other alien nations or aggressive Terran pirating.  Several well-known and respected high-level officers had been either removed from their posts or stripped of rank for disagreeing with the President on this issue and for the first time, he feared for Earth.  What worried him even more was the fact that, he wasn't alone sharing these thoughts.  The underlying military structure was cracking apart even worse than before and if Earth Force splintered again, then Earth would lose this war, not to mention Clark's plan.  Earth needed had to be re-unified, but here he was, about to add another crack in the structure.  

"Captain Adams," Schall grimaced.  "It is not in your best interests to proceed to Earth at this time."  How he hated to say that!  "I strongly recommend that you change headings and go to the _Babylon Five_ station located in the Epsilon Eridani star system."  

There, he'd said it.  His career was ruined.  He wanted to look around and see how his crew was reacting to his decision but he didn't dare.  But there was a presence behind him-

"Sir, are you sure you want to recommend that they go to _B5_?" Commander O'Shay, his second-in-command, asked tightly.  The blond haired young man wore the armband of the Ministry of Peace, and wore it proudly.  

It served as a constant reminder that he and the rest of the crew were being watched, another thing that Schall hated.  His loyalty had been unquestioned, until this arrogant little snot started spying on him, second-guessing his command decisions, as though he were incompetent.  "Yes.  The station is safer."  _For them_ he added silently.  He could tell that the Commander wasn't about to back down.  

"They could be league with the Federation, sir," he insisted as his voice rose slightly.  "You know the President's standing orders.  If we let them go we won't have a chance to examine these people and their technology.  That will compromise our ability to defend ourselves when they come.  We made that mistake of letting the Federation ships go free once before and you see what happened.  _Babylon Five_ is more of a danger than ever and the conflict has split our nation in two."

Schall was losing it.  "We didn't let Picard and the others go.  We didn't have them in the first place!  Are you blind?"  Violently he snapped his fingers and in an instant the Sergeant-at-arms was at his side.  "Arrest Commander O'Shay, search him and confine him to quarters."  To his Comms Officers get the other Captains:  "This is Schall.  I am escorting this ship to _Babylon Five_.  If you have problems with this, let me know now."  He ordered communications cut.  "Go to battle stations."

The _Nimrod_ went to battle stations, further stunning the EAS battlegroup.  One of the _Hyperion_ Captains responded to the action.  

"I can't do this, Randy," she said.  "But I won't fight you, either."

"Then do I have permission to shuttle over, members of my crew who no longer wish to serve under my command?"

"Permission is granted."

Gratefully he acknowledged her with a bowing of his head.  He fully understood what this course of action would bring.  

A half hour later, three shuttles, packed with crewmembers, from various ships made their way to the remaining_ Hyperion _and _Omega_. And quite unexpectedly, a shuttle flew over to the _Nimrod_, filled with crew who wanted to join with him.  Secretly he was delighted that no shots had been fired, but the delight warred with his distress.  The EA was fracturing once more and the cause was himself, a man who had up until a half hour ago had been utterly loyal to Earth Force and his legitimate government.  He and the others with him had effectively destroyed their commands and would be branded traitors by the same government he loved.  The one good thing was that he didn't have to shoot O'Shay.  This could not go on, he thought as he and the other two vessels jumped towards _Babylon Five_ with the United Planet's saucer in tow.

***  

At first, Clark wanted to say no.  After all this time, Morden had finally lowered himself to talk to his servant, and that made him fume to no end.  For months, there was nothing.  Now Morden practically ordered him to attack Centauri Prime.  Clark had a thousand questions but the most important ones were-would the Shadows support him in subduing the Centauri home world and would they help him finally get rid of Sheridan and solidify his hold on Earth?  

The answer had been yes.  Morden had said yes so quickly that it caused Clark's hair to stand on end.  And the brevity of the call brooked no argument.  There was a threat in his voice that Clark had never heard before.

"Patricia, have the Secretary of Defense come to my office, now.  I have a job for him."

An hour later the very last ships, twenty of the Black Squadron _Omegas_ in various stages of completion were on their way to Centauri Prime.  Their mission: a lightning attack to turn the Centauri homeworld into a wasteland.  

*** 

 Babylon Five: 

The swirl of reddish light, characteristic of hyperspace, gave way to the natural black and the specks called stars of normal space.  _Babylon Five_ was still there, more crowded than ever, Delenn noted with some unease.  She had been gone too long, the war with the Drakh and trying to keep her government from folding in upon itself, had taken up much of her time.  Now she was home.

_Home,_ she thought harshly.  _What is home for me? John is here, but so is Anne.   I thought, even hoped that she was dead, another victim of the Shadows, but she lived through that horror and now she is back with John.  What do we do now? _

Throughout the conflict, she'd rarely thought about, indeed couldn't think about the two of them together all this time while she was desperately trying to keep her people from being slaughtered by the Drakh hordes.  There was a mutual understanding between her and John when it came to matters of state.  Each of them worked better alone, each better able to concentrate on the things at hand and for her part she was almost able to put him behind her. This was especially true when it came to the war.

The Drakh had attacked the Minbari Federation, not for vengeance, not to even conquer, but simply to destroy as much as possible, to weaken them for the darkness to come.  Their Shadow masters demanded the blood of the Minbari for daring to defy them and joining forces with the Vorlons a thousand years past and possibly to remove the Minbari threat from whatever convoluted plans they could conceive of.  

**The Drakh were shown to be as sophisticated as the Minbari in technology and in some cases surpassed them in weapons technology.  But there was one thing that her people excelled in.  When needed the most, the stealth capabilities served the Minbari well.  Otherwise the losses of three colonies and nearly two hundred capital ships would have been far greater.  Now, there were nearly five hundred ships, some hundreds of years old, were pressed into service and battle.  **

And what terrible, glorious battles they were.  The Drakh motherships, some almost five times as large as _Babylon Five,_ released swarms of destroyers, fighters and even carriers.  So much so, that the Minbari specialists were unsure as to how so many could be conceived and built in the first place.  Those motherships usually stayed out of reach, relying on their support ships to do the actual fighting.  That had come as a bitter lesson as ten ships of the line were destroyed in a sneak attack carried out by fifty destroyers that exited jumpspace almost on top of them.  It was a one-sided slaughter that filled the Minbari with a rage not seen since the Earth-Minbari war.  

It also guaranteed eternal blood-enmity against the Drakh hordes and Minbari.

Rage aside, the warrior class had been humbled by the sudden loss of so many ships and crew by beings they, at first, considered inferior.  There had been a general feeling that the military couldn't really be hurt unless the attackers were Shadows.  But this defeat had opened their eyes.  There were cases where the warrior caste had actually praised the Earth-Minbari conflict because they felt that their caste would have been unprepared for this more vicious conflict.  

There were still bitter feelings for the apparent surrender of their forces just as they would have completed their revenge upon the more primitive inhabitants of Earth for striking down one of their most beloved leaders.  Even she had succumbed to the blood lust, taking it upon herself to give the order to release her people's full wrath down on an unsuspecting and venerable Earth, whose ultimate crime was that of stupidity and arrogance of a few selected individuals.   That was something she could never, ever tell John or the people of Earth.  It was her fault that so many people died.  Revenge had held sway when reason should had prevailed.  But that was the past and she had made peace with that even as she had made peace with the passing of Dukhat, her mentor and leader of the Minbari, when an Earth destroyer for the most flimsy of reasons struck him down.

Now, five worlds, two of them colonies and one a part of the Minbari Federation central core affiliate had been attacked and the death toll had been staggering.  But that hadn't been the worst of it.  In the conflict that followed, several members of the warrior caste had attempted to assassinate her, something unheard of among her people.  Neroon, a member of the Grey Council and a member of the warrior class, discovered the plot and stopped it in time, but that had caused a rift between the warrior caste against the religious and worker classes, a terrible thing in time of war.  Heedless of the consequences, the two castes nearly went to war with the warriors, refusing to support them, even as they fought and died protecting them all.  Sensing weakness, the Drakh had attacked, striking several worlds.  The Minbari responded far to late to strike back or defend those worlds.  The government was in turmoil and something had to be done.  

Neroon, supported by Delenn, and both the Religious and Worker Castes fought against and subsequently won the power struggle over a period of months.  The result was a changed Grey council in which there were now four representatives of the Worker and Religious castes and only two of the Warrior Castes.  The phrase 'if you would lead, then one must serve' took on a whole new meaning.  They were once more united, if not bruised.  Then the Drakh suddenly ceased their patrols and attacks and simply disappeared, and the Minbari were even more furious.  They couldn't; be found anywhere.  The orders were given.  Find them! The only trail detected lead straight to the one place even they feared to tread. 

Z'ha'dum.

John contacted them and requested that she come to _Babylon Five_.  At first she refused but he insisted.  Something horrific was happening, his insistence told her that much immediately. There was something in his voice, something that was so rare that she had trouble putting a name to it. Then she saw his eyes.  They were full of fear.  She immediately assembled the council and told her of her intentions of going to _Babylon Five_.  The council agreed... 

Not that Neroon was overly happy with the results, Delenn mused.  There was another threat on the horizon and that threat was Earth, or more specifically the technology that could be gained by the humans in the guise of the alien ships that had arrived some six months ago.  His initial meeting with them went well, but he was still cautious. Despite the multitude of claims that they were not taking sides when it came to technology, he was uncomfortable with what the Federation represented.  The battle reports of the Proxima III battle did not help to ease his mind one bit.  The _Enterprise_ stood toe to toe with the Drakh destroyers, several times their size, surviving and even gutting a number of them in a four-to-one battle, that no single Minbari ship could have survived.  He understood (and had seen it first-hand), that in a fight between a Sharlin cruiser and two Drakh destroyers, the outcome would be highly questionable.  That made the _Enterprise _and the other Federation ships-and the smaller Klingon cruiser, too-something to be feared, if their technology got into the wrong hands, especially a government as unenlightened as EarthGov was at this time.  Whether they were from Earth or some distant colony, most of them were human and he was sure that that commonality called to one another, despite their differences at the moment.  

His nightmares were of the known versus the unknown.  What if this 'Federation' decided to make their presence known in this area of the universe? What they were experiencing now would be nothing compared to the war that that might precipitate.   Their sensors, the weapons systems, the alien FTL drives and the truly frightening transporters-oh, the possibilities there! -pointed in one direction that he could see...

This was another crisis point, waiting to happen.  Delenn thought that if he understood the full truth, he might rest easier, but she wasn't sure.  However, under the promise of the strictest security, she told him.  

Oh, how Neroon had laughed, as much in relief as with shocked amusement.  He didn't doubt her story for an instant.  She never lied to him and her explanation was a good as any other he'd heard.   He felt even more at ease when she had told him of the classes on the _Ambassador_ in engineering, medicine, sociology, and a dozen other sciences, made available-for a hefty price-to those governments who wanted to learn.  Much of the Federation tech was incompatible to what Earth standard and the majority of the other races used, however, the principles were solid and real.  With a little work, that technology could be understood and converted to working analogues by the various races.  It would take a few years to properly develop the new technology according to the dictates of each culture's technological base, but it was being offered.  In fact, other than the Centauri, EarthGov members were not receiving any sort of training and as such were actually behind most of the other races clamoring to take said classes.  Neroon relaxed and the crisis was averted for now.  One never fully knew with the warrior caste, but she firmly decided that she would trust him.  Of course, he insisted on going with her.  

Now she prepared for another, far more personal battle.  She didn't know how John really felt towards her now.  She'd lied to him, after a fashion.  

Captain John Sheridan's face appeared onscreen and the instant he saw Delenn, his eyes lit up and she felt hers do the same thing.  The connection, tenuous as it was, was still there and she reveled in it.

"Delenn," he said bowing his head slightly.  "We need you here as soon as possible.  Neroon also," he added when he saw him at her side.  

A chill went down her spine. "We are there."

***  


	15. In the Hot Seat

**_   Chapter 13_**

**In the Hot Seat**

The same time that Delenn shuttled over to B5, Captain Charlotte Clark, commander of the EAS _Papros_, exited the Epsilon jump gate just behind the EAS _Charon_.  Commercial and military chatter dramatically increased as her ship eased into its assigned parking space.  No doubt they were looking at her modified _Omega-X a_nd were suitably impressed. As they should be.  Designed to be an intermediary step between what was gleaned from an unearth shadow mother vessel and EarthForce's own knowledge, it radiated power and a dark beauty that had to be the envy of everyone who saw it.  It was a definite step up from anything currently possessed by Earth's military and was powerful enough to take on and destroy any two _Omegas_ in the fleet with power to spare.  

As powerful as it was however, she had no intentions of flaunting her ship too much.  The two Minbari Sharlins were scanning her heavily and although their gun ports weren't open, she and her crew were anxious.  They hadn't expected the Minbari to be there.  

To her left was the _Ambassador_, a smallish ship really, and from the readings, unquestionably a powerhouse in its own right.  She would have to strike first and strike hard if her cousin's order was to be implemented.  

But Clark hadn't accounted for the Minbari ships next to her.  Or, maybe he did.  

The President was her cousin, but that wouldn't stop him from having her killed if it were convenient for him.  She knew where a lot of the skeletons were and just maybe he wanted her eliminated.  

It was a classic case where one little deed got her punished.  When he 'suggested' that she receive the captaincy over some of the more qualified applicants, she had been ecstatic, but at the time she had been completely unaware of the prices she would have to pay.  The name Clark had put fear in many of her associates; ones that bitterly resented her status now.  She tried to make the best of it, however things were stacked up against her.  She fought hard and overcame more than a few obstacles thrown her way, but all that was lost when Clark publicly announced their relationship to the world.  That lead to another quickie promotion and the position she enjoyed-as much as she could-of having the only fully crewed, fully functional, _Omega-X_ class destroyer.  One of the many privileges given her was that she could name her ship, a gift from her cousin-as long as it was Greek-based.  She didn't want go for one of the Greek deities.  Instead she chose something else.   

To everyone though, she represented Clark's official spy and Charlotte hated him for it.  Charlotte also found herself playing along with him, getting her hands dirty in the process.  However, she like everyone else knew that this wasn't success.  It was enslavement and now her cousin expected her to kill loyal members of EarthForce, because he couldn't trust them.  If and when she did it, whether she survived or not, the name Clark would forever be associated with the word 'butchery'.  She felt trapped.  There was no way out of it. 

"Captain."  It was her scanner Officer.   "Several ships just appeared in normal space vectoring towards the station, moving very fast.  There was no jump point opening that we could detect.  Silhouettes identified.  It's the _Enterprise_ and two of Sheridan's support ships.   They're coming in close to light speed," the scanners officer said with a touch of awe.  By now, everyone knew of the fantastic speeds that these ships were capable of.  But seeing it first hand and knowing that the crew wasn't going splat inside was another matter.

Inwardly, she cursed.  The odds of being blown into small particles increased with each second. The data-scans identified the _Enterprise _and two of Sheridan's _White Stars_ using that insanely alien star drive.  Rumor was that now both warp and hyperspace drives were being used to achieve speeds previously unimaginable.   Proxima III was almost a week away from Epsilon.  Yet, here they were.   It was a good excuse to keep from being killed.

"Power down all systems," she ordered.  "We're going to be here for a while."

"_B5_ is hailing us."

Patch it through," she ordered.  

"Patching, Captain." 

***

Equally surprising was that fact that she was invited to attend this conference.  Quickly agreeing, and shuttling over, she now found herself in the middle of a large number of representatives ranging from Human to Minbari.  Just about every species she could think of was here in this room.  In the corner, she saw her intended target General Brindley and Captain Anderson deep in conversation with, Captain Hiroshi and Commander Ivanova of _Babylon Five_, and the infamous Captain Garrett.  Everyone from Delenn to Picard was there.  A few moments later, she was shocked to see another Federation Captain, Sisko if she remembered the name correctly, enter the room with two very large wild-haired, knot-headed aliens who's demeanor suggested that they were hoping for a fight to break out.  They were no doubt serious brawlers, in some ways, her kind of people.  

She almost laughed.  What her cousin wouldn't give to have a small tactical nuke placed somewhere in this room right now!  

It was standing room only, and of course, she was one of those who didn't have a seat, but she didn't mind.  Sitting was the least of her concerns.  Maybe she was paranoid, but it seemed that everyone was looking at her. 

"Captain Clark," General Brindley acknowledged, as she stood at attention.  "Thanks for the escort," the General stated.  There was something in his eyes...

He knew! Or at least the man suspected.  And so did Anderson.  With that realization, the shame came crashing down.  She never wanted to be an assassin slated to die for her idiot cousin.   

Further thoughts were pushed behind her as Captain Sheridan began to speak.

To the representatives here," he started.  Thank you for coming."  His voice was strained and he seemed somehow older than the last vids had portrayed him.  

"I've called you here to discuss events concerning this war that has seemed to taken another one of the twist and turns.  Eight days ago, the Drakh race, with whom we have been at war with, disappeared, and apparently retreated back to Shadow territories for no apparent reason.  That has left the Centauri in a vulnerable position and they are pulling back, forming more defensive lines deeper in their territories."  

He continued.  "This is all good and well, as the fighting has slowed for now.  What we didn't know was the reason why.  And then we found out.  Ambassador Mollari of the Centauri Republic was found adrift, barely alive."  There were disappointed grunts and several other sounds of disgust at the noise that Sheridan tactfully ignored.  "He," Sheridan said, "was unable to speak.  But Londo did have a diary of where he was and what he had been doing.  What was recorded on those pages are the reason we are here today.  From his diary and through independent confirmation, we have reason to believe that the Shadows are in the middle of a major battle with a race that may be more powerful and more deadly than they are."

Of course the people erupted with the news, most of the excited that the Shadows were getting what they deserved.  Some however, were more frightened.  Sheridan waited a moment for things to die down and then he continued.  

"We believe the Drakh and the others under the Shadows are fighting this new enemy.  Now, these aliens are not the benevolent beings that some of us are hoping for.  They represent a threat that we have never before experienced. The Vorlons fought them once and they barely survived the encounter.  Now they are back and with the Vorlons gone and the Shadows under siege, we will not be able to stop them from overwhelming us as we are right now.  We are divided and concerned about our petty differences and internal squabbles.  But I believe that it's time that we grow up.  Therefore, I take this stand now, between the light and the approaching darkness against this new threat.  I do not take this lightly and I don't expect you to follow or believe anything that I have just said." 

"Therefore, it is my intention to send an expedition to Z'ha'dum to get an accurate assessment of the situation.  I will send a _White Star_ there and if what we suspect is true then we'll have definite proof and can respond accordingly.  But at the same time, I don't want you to take my word for it, so I am asking that each government here send a representative with them to see for themselves if this is the threat we believe it is."  

The place erupted and again Sheridan waited for them to calm down so he could continue.  "In order to ensure the safety of those who wish to go, I have asked that the Federation starship _USS Ambassador_ travel there also as its heavy escort.  On that ship, the representatives will be able to assess the threat for themselves.  The Minbari have also volunteered for escort duty, insuring the safety of all concerned."   

***

Before she was consciously aware of it, Charlotte was next to Sheridan offering the services of her vessel for additional escort service.  This was her chance to see first hand what was going on.  If the shadows were in trouble, then all bets with her cousin were off and she would be able to shake off his ever-tightening leash.  She knew Clark's mentality quite well.  If something was up, and he did lose his dark allies, then her cousin would freeze up and do something drastic.  

That subsequent action would put him at further odds against EarthForce and his other so-called allies in the ministries of Peace and Justices.  Besides, her ship was the flagship of EarthForce now (to her, the resistance _Omegas_, modified by the Federation technology didn't count) and if they ran into trouble she would prove its worth.   

Captain Sheridan winced at her name and she quickly confirmed that she was indeed related to the President, but that he had nothing to do with this voluntary action.  She was upfront with him and Sheridan reluctantly acquiesced, even while Brindley shot daggers at him for doing so.  

Delenn was even less happy.  Her Shadow wannabe destroyer caused an almost instinctual hatred among the Minbari, and several other races.  However for once, her name actually became an asset for her she was allowed to accompany them.  Excited, she rushed back to her ship to prepare, anxious to prove that her ship was the equal to any other ship be it Federation or Minbari.  She finally had a real mission. Besides it was going to be a long trip and it would give her some badly needed time to think and come up with a plan.

***

"You're grounded, Commander Ivanova," an angry Sheridan said to an equally angry Second-in-command.  Unto further notice you will not command any vessel we have until you get it together.  Your recklessness almost cost you and your crew their lives."

Picard said he wouldn't say anything, the liar!  She instantly regretted her accusations but at the same time, she was surprised and disappointed that Captain Picard had informed her Captain of their talks.

"I've had a chance to do a fast review of the Proxima III battle and to put it bluntly, I didn't like what I saw.  White _Star Two_ almost got its butt handed to itself at least twice.  You had no regard for the others in your squad, Commander.  You opened holes that could have easily allowed the enemy to exploit for all it was worth."

"Sir," she answered stiffly.  "There were openings that the others didn't see and as Commander, I chose to take advantage of them.   Aggressiveness in conflict is sometimes necessary and I felt it was the correct thing to do under the circumstances."

"You thought wrong. Ivanova.  I received reports from two Captains who were mighty pissed off at what they considered amateur tactics from one of my best officers.  That makes me look bad, and I don't need this, especially right now when our people are scared to death!  They're afraid that if the war ends we'll be right back where we started from with EarthForce breathing down our necks!"  Slowly, much to her relief, he began to calm down.  "I don't want to lose you, Susan.  You did this before and I let it go, but not this time.  If you want to command, then you have to re-earn it.  When this mission is over and we find out exactly what's going on out there, We will have another talk.  Then I will see..."

"Picard had no right-"  

"Captain Picard didn't say anything to me about you," Sheridan retorted, trying to force his way past her anger with some of his own.  "What does that tell you?"

Unable to do anything else, she simply stood at attention.  She promised herself that she wouldn't allow the tear to drop.  She also promised to try not to hit anything when Sheridan excused her.

***  

_Enterprise-D:_

Captains Picard, Sisko, Koral, Garrett, along with the command officers of all three Federation ships and _K'mpec's Honor_ sat at the table as a united group for the first time.  It was truly a historic occasion, especially considering the fact that the humans and Klingons weren't trying to kill one another, the thought not even crossing their minds now. The upcoming mission was important, however that had to a back seat to what they were discussing now.

"As I reported earlier," Benjamin started, "I have come to the conclusion that we can't go back.  This does not mean that we cannot find a way home, but to do so would cause our extinction if we could.  The 'other' me that I spoke with and the alien with him, made that abundantly clear.  We are temporal fragments or copies if you will, identical in every way to our original counterparts, created the instant we entered the temporal field that brought us here.  When we entered the temporal-spatial field, our reality which had already been damaged fractured further and the possibilities of what we might have been became the reality of what we are.  In the process, our own quantum specific reality has locked us out.  The quantum temporal universe we originated from does not exist, even though the original quantum universe does.  That means that there are two of us.  If we return, then our universe will correct the mistake-us-and we will be re-absorbed in favor of our original counterparts.  And the process will not be pleasant." 

"So you are saying that we are not real," Worf stated.  He didn't like the sound of that.

"No," Sisko corrected.  "I am saying that we are real, but we cannot go back to our quantum home universe.  If we had the means, we could travel to any other reality but our own point of origin."

"That is not acceptable, Captain Sisko," Picard said. "We do not belong here.  But you are asking us to give up trying to return home.  Do you that believe these aliens spoke the truth?"

"Yes," Ben responded with absolute conviction.  "My counterpart warned me not to come back unless I wanted to become one with him.  The aliens want him to be whole and I was that missing piece."

"Then why didn't they contact others of us," Rachel asked.  "Surely they could have."

"Yes," he confirmed.  "But they were interested in me only.  The rest of us were not their concern."  _Only the Sisko_ fragment he thought.  "We are causalities of a temporal cold war going on in our universe that is now having repercussions in other universes as well.  There is another group that suffered the same fate as we have."

"How do you know?"

"I was told of them and we were able to find them.  I attempted contact with them but the reception was not positive," he said, putting it mildly.  

"These people are from another quantum reality, quite different from ours.  Their technology is less advanced than ours in some ways, but roughly equal to or even more advanced in others, than the Earth of this universe.  They felt very uncomfortable with Captain Sisko speaking to them," Doctor Troi said.  "Like us, they are unsure of everything and far more isolated and alone than we are.  I suspect that there were other reasons also."   The rest she left unsaid.

"What do you mean others?"  For a second Captain Garrett had an impossible vision of meeting her counterpart, a duplicate of herself.  For her, that would have been utterly fascinating, if not aggravating.  She found it amusing that she really could wind up talking to herself.  

"First contact didn't go as well as we hoped," Dr. Troi added, confirming what Captain Sisko had just said.  "They were naturally frightened by their circumstances and the fact that the _Yeager_ was far larger and more advanced than anything they've encountered originating from a human society.  They had intentions of heading to Earth.  Captain Sisko told them of the situation as stated in our report.  However they were very apprehensive and elected to continue on their journey towards Earth.  The presence of Captain Sisko seemed only to increase their distress."

"They locked weapons on us, to be precise," Ben added.  He had the look of a man completely frustrated with the whole situation.   "In order to alleviate some of the tension, we sent them all of our data and left the area.  I believe that either you or Captain Picard might have been better candidates for this particular first contact."

"They seemed surprised to see Captain Sisko commanding the _Yeager_."

"Why is that?" asked a perplexed Picard.   A second later, he frowned.  "We're making assumptions here on very little evidence."

"Yes, Captain.  We know nothing about their planet's culture we are making assumptions about," Deanna answered.  "However, when we contact them again, both we and they'll have a stronger basis to act upon."

"Well," Picard said, looking at Captain Sisko.  "They had better adjust to the reality or they will have a difficult time in this universe."

The conversation lingered on for several more minutes. 

"Next on the agenda is the efficiency rating and tactical reports on the Drakh and Centauri warships.  And we need to determine what adjustments are needed with the resistance EAS ships in light of that information."

Captain Garrett," Geordie said.  "Before we get to that, there's something you should know.  The EAS has incorporated polarized plating into their smaller gunships."

"What?"

"And that's not all," he continued.  "Somehow they've developed a primitive first generation phase cannon.  It corresponds exactly with the same level of technology that has been incorporated the Star Furies.  But at the same time, they are independent designs, made up from their own components."

"Somehow they've acquired the plans."

'That's my bet," Geordi answered.  "But, this isn't something they cobbled together.  It took some time to create those designs from scratch.  The technology is an EarthForce analog."

"Geordi is correct," Data added.  The plating on the gunboats is inferior to that which is found on the Thunderbolt Starfuries modified by us.  But they are superior to anything previously developed by EarthForce vessels.  That is the reason as to why several ships survived the Drakh weapons strikes while others of the same configuration did not."  

"Captains, the gunboats were only one thing that has improved," Geordie continued.  "The heavy weapon on the _Nova_ class vessel was powerful enough that a direct hit could have hurt us."

"What type of weapon was it?" Sisko asked.

"Basically it's a modified plasma cannon, but its' calibration was attuned specifically to a shield frequency harmonic of eight-seven-two-one-three-six-seven.  Sir, we have used that frequency for our shields," he explained.  "Somehow they knew exactly what it was, but they didn't know that we rotate the frequencies as a matter of course."

That was a serious security breech and Tasha was not happy about it at all.  "There's no way," she hotly insisted.  "No unauthorized personnel have entered the engine room or security would have picked it up."

You're right," said Geordi.  "We've only done three full frequency ritations since we've been here.  The only possibility that a breech could have occurred was when we were attacked by the Shadow vessel.  The other two times, there were no outside personnel onboard.  Besides, the shield frequency monitoring system is located in a secured area of engineering.  And I refuse to believe that one of our people would have sold the information to EarthForce."

"I believe that I know what happened," Deanna said suddenly.  "Things that didn't make sense earlier, suddenly clicked.  "During the fight with the Shadows, Bester and Janice were onboard.  Due to the tension onboard, it is quite possible that he was able to pick out the number from someone in engineering."

"Garrett was confused.  "I thought the human telepaths here required line-of-sight."

"They are," Deanna confirmed.  "However, if the 'background intensity' was high enough, a trained telepath might have been able to pick put the necessary information without performing an active scan that would have been picked up by the guard."  

"Retribution," Picard mused.  "If should see him again, I believe that I shall have another talk with him."

"He's on the planet with a lot of Psi-Corps and telepathic refugees," Commander Castillo supplied helpfully. 

"Good."  _Not only did he endanger members of my crew, but now my ship.  This man must be made aware that I am not to be trifled.  This ends now," _Picard raged_._   "When the meeting is adjourned, I want to speak to Draal."

"Now, as you are aware," Garret began, changing the subject, "I have passed the relevant data concerning our briefing with Lyta Alexander, Ambassador Kosh and Mr. Draal.  Whoever these new beings are, they seem to be very aggressive, far more so than anything we've encountered since we've been here.  That they are aggressive is not in doubt.  But our information source is..."

Sisko's eyebrows rose and did Captain Koral's.  "You don't believe their story."

"The bottom line answer to that statement is no," said Captain Garrett.  "Guinan doesn't believe him either, at least not completely.  The story had several questionable, shall we say, holes in it.   But they all, without exception, took what was said at face value.  Delenn didn't question it, neither did Captain Sheridan.  What was interesting was that none of the _B5ers_ who heard it, ever even questioned its truthfulness.   

"I'm beginning to understand, Captain," Castillo murmured after a few seconds thought.  "How could the other side have a interdimensional doorway prepared and opened, on the possibility that someone in another universe _might_ open their own door to come through one day?"

"Exactly.  Then there is the fact that people in this part of the universe have been genetically altered to positively accept anything Vorlon.  It probably didn't even occur to them to question Lyta's and Kosh's story.  And that brings up another point," she added.  "Why is it that everybody uses only jumpgate technology?  Warp drive was never developed, transwarp drive was never thought of and even variations of hyperspace FTL techniques have never been experimented with.  I think something is wrong with that.  From the Vorlons to the Shadows to EarthForce as long as anyone can remember, jump space is the only game in town."

"You bring up a very valid point, Ma'am," Castillo replied.  "Even during the war, there were several different approaches considered besides warp travel.  We were always trying to break the warp ten barrier, even in our time.  If the races have been around for so long, why is it that only jump space is being used?"

"Yes," said Geordi, jumping in.  "We've been here only six months and already we're figuring out how to integrate subspace technology with hyperspace.  We're opening up entirely new fields in hyperspace and subspace physics.  But they haven't made any significant advances since the Centauri gave them jumpgate technology, what 200 years ago? In fact, when we first went to them with the project, they insisted that it wouldn't work.  Only when we actually started making progress did their attitudes change.  It was like a light just suddenly kicked in.  But it's not just the Earth people, but all of the races we've encountered, even the Minbari.   It's as though there's some type of block preventing them from experimenting with different ways of supraliminal travel."

"That's the question, Lieutenant Commander," Picard said.  "Maybe there is a blockage, placed by the Vorlons.  It is possible that the didn't want advances in faster-than-light other than what was already developed."

"I wonder why?" 

"This is all conjecture," Garrett announced.  "But it is something that we can look into in the future.   Discretely."

***

That's it folks until February 2004.   I will pick it up from right here.  One of the things I didn't think about but seems to be true is that these two stories takes place in one year of the life of B5.  


	16. The Meeting Place

**_THOSE WHO STAND-BOOK II_**

**Chapter 14**

**_"The Meeting Place, part 2"_**

**_Babylon Five_**:

"So everything's set. The upgrades are working out nicely.  We leave in nine hours," Rachel said as she sipped her coffee.   For a moment she savored its taste, closing her eyes to better absorb the subtle flavors exploring her mouth. "I will need to talk to this Captain Clark in detail.  As you know, our dealings with EarthForce haven't been that great."

"No," Jean-Luc agreed, amused at the understatement.  "I just hope that this isn't the calm before the storm."

In the past few months, the _Enterprise-C_, an _Ambassador _class starship, had underwent small but significant modifications such as upgrading the bussard collectors, increasing their efficiency by almost twelve percent. The new sensor's package increased the range and sensitivity by over twenty-five percent.  And the newer impulse engines increased thrust and agility by almost twenty five percent over the original design.  The _Enterprise-C_ was one of the few _Ambassador _class ships that didn't undergo the_ Yamaguchi _refit and as such, was slower at impulse that her later built sisters.  The newer warp core design specifically for the _Ambassador_ was nixed for the time being since no wanted to in the middle of that kind of procedure if hostilities broke out.  So for now, The _Ambassador_ was stronger than she ever had been but still not quite up to Picard's wishes.  Hopefully those changes would come in the future.

The silence stretched around them as each enjoyed one another's company.  Through the window, both watched as the jumpgate opened allowing an EA ship to enter the mysteries of jump space. 

"It never ceases to amaze me."

"You mean," she questioned, waving her hands to indicate everything that had happen to them and their crew, "all of this?"

"Yes," he whispered.  "I have not let myself see the totality of it all.  Another universe," he whispered again.  "A universe in which we are the interlopers, watching a parallel Earth moving in directions that we would have never imagined.  Sometimes, when I'm in my room, I think upon all of this and the conflicts, all the sadness that has occurred here and I ask myself, how is it possible?  But then, I remember where it was that we came from. I revisit the horrors that I've seen and I shiver and I once more come to the realization that we're no better off, than they are.  That fact of the matter is that they may be in far better shape than our universe.  Despite our advances, they have a life here that speaks of an energy that our Federation is losing.  Rachel, the war was destroying us.  When I look at you, I see glimpses what we could have aspired to and what we have lost because of the war."

Not for the first time Garrett could see the pain and the loneliness in his face.  It was a tired face, the kind of look that spoke of determination for a hopeless cause.  "Then why haven't you talked about this before?  You should have let me in."

He didn't respond to that.  It was as if he couldn't.  But finally something changed and he seemed to somehow relax somewhat.  "Rachel, I'm glad you're here with me," he admitted.  "I'm glad that you an your crew survived to join us in this remarkable journey."

"My crew and I should have died twenty-two years ago," she said.  "The war should have never happened and our interference with this reality should have never occurred."  She sighed softly as she sipped the last of her coffee.  "But I am glad to be alive, even if I am a fragment."

"You believed him."

"I believe I do," she confessed.  "I wouldn't so far as to call us fragments however.  We're separates."

"In what way?" Picard asked.

"Do you remember in the early days when Kirk had the transporter incident and was split into two distinct parts?"

"I vaguely remember the history and the events.  But I do see where you are going with this.  Which one was the real Kirk?  The answer is…"

"Both of them," she finished.  "Just as we are."

"I keep telling myself that."  

Yes there was pain in his voice.  Raw pain, the type a man has when he's lost his only child.  "We are alive.  Besides, if we weren't then the aliens wouldn't have come back for Ben.  But that is besides the point isn't it."

"What do you mean?" Picard asked tightly.

"You are frightened, Jean-Luc," Rachel answered.  "I can see in your eyes.  You've put up a brave front, but sometimes, when you're trying to relax, you let your guard down, just for a second."

"Rachel…"

"I understand what you fear," she said.  "I feel the same way," she said.  And as she did so, Rachel let him see the same weight, the same misery that tormented her as well.  "Sometimes, in the dark, I feel like I might go mad.  My crew is lost.  Our crews are lost and we, as Captains feel responsible."

"Because we are."

"But we will go on," she continued.  "In this universe or the next.  And we will do this together.  Like you said, I'm glad that you and Sisko are with me and mine." 

 "Enough of this self-pity."  He got up, straightened his uniform and became the Captain of the _Enterprise_ again.

Rachel laughed.

"And?" he asked.  He was smiling himself.

"Why is it that _Enterprise_ Captains have to go through so much trouble?"

"That's because we both know that the words _Enterprise_, responsibility and trouble, go hand-in-hand," he answered without skipping a beat.

"I'm glad you're here with me also, Captain Picard, master of the _Enterprise-D_.  I believe we should have tea and coffee more often."

"Most certainly, Captain Garret of the _Enterprise-C_. "  His voice took on a more sober tone.  "Whatever comes; our life is here."

"Until we find out otherwise," she answered.

"Until we discover otherwise," he responded.  "The future awaits."

"Speaking of which."   She got up, kissed his cheek.  "Now it's time for some girl talk."

Rachel left his Ready-room happier than she'd been in a long time.

***

Lieutenant Corwin frowned the EAS _Nimrod_ battle group exited the jumpgate with a small vessel in tow.  At first, it he thought it was Vree, however a quick inspectionrevealed it to be something else entirely different.  A moment later, the strange ship was released and he was hailed.

"This is Captain Daniel Schall of the EAS _Nimrod_ requesting a meeting with Captain Sheridan.  For reasons that will become apparent, we are requesting asylum and respectfully ask that we join the forces of the resistance in your request to liberate Earth from the Clark regime." 

The Lieutenant almost smiled.  The man had to have practiced that little speech for a little while.  He had heard of this particular Captain whose reputation had preceded him.  From all reports, he was a good commander, but he had all the imagination of a brick.  The man was as conservative and loyal as they came, which begged the question as to why he was here at _Babylon Five_ requesting asylum.  "Remain where you are _Nimrod_.  Please identify unknown vessel."

"That's what we're here to talk about," Captain Schall answered and Corwin could see that the man was nervous.  I prefer to speak to Sheridan as soon as possible."

He received another incoming call, this time from the unknown ship.  "I'm Captain John Adams of the United Planet Cruiser _C-57-D_.  I want to speak to whoever is in charge of this space station."

The Sandy-haired man had spoken in English, but he had never heard of that designation before."

"United Planet Cruiser_?  _I don't recognize your ship and it doesn't conform to anything in our database.  Where are you from?"

"Well," he fumbled.  "It's rather hard to explain, but we're not from around here."

"We have a visual on screen one, Lieutenant, sir."  The woman's face drained as she saw the crewmembers of the tiny vessel.  "Ah, Sir?"

"Oh, God!" he whispered.  His mouth hung open and it took a little effort to close it.   Was that a robot at the helm?  It looked like one and as far as he knew, humans had never developed that technology.  _Here we go again_.  "Captain Sheridan will be with you in a few moments."

*******

John Adams had to appreciate the irony of the situation.  He had no intentions of coming to this place and that was exactly where he wound up.  The _Nimrod_ was indeed intimidating and big enough carry his ship, but he had no desire to dock inside and place himself at the mercy of these strangers so as a compromise, he accepted the tow.  Hyperspace was indeed a revelation to him and the crew.  This form of travel was much faster than his ship's top speed.  However, their sublight speeds were far below anything that would be accepted by the United Planet's starcraft engineering.  Artificial gravity mechanics was unknown to these people.  Throughout the entire, trip, he and his crew took readings and it was quickly determined that his ship's hyperspace drive would thrive in jumpspace.  With a little work, they could exceed anything currently imagined by this–and his-Earth.  

As with so many visitors who came to this station, he was awed by the design of the station.  He was also stunned that they had no artificial gravity system.  They were obviously advanced in some areas but lacking in others.  But the sheer numbers and variation of the ships moving and stationed around it gave him a measure of comfort.   One of his crewmembers saw the _Yeager_ parked next to, what must have been its bigger brother and sister.  The design was different but unmistakable.  Beside them were a multitude of warships and dozens of cargo ships and vessels representing many, many races of alien species.  

 They're beautiful," Altaria said.  She had never stopped gazing at the view-screen since they entered _Babylon Five's_ airspace.  Cookie, the ship's cook and now junior engineer since he had to pull double duty, stood next to her, gaping.

"Which one?" he asked.

"All of them," came the answer.

"Ain't it the truth?  I have never so many different kinds of ships in my life at one place, not even over Earth.  Our Earth, I mean," Qualified the young man.  "Do you think we'll ever get back?"

"I don't know, Cookie.  I don't know." 

***

**Epsilon:**

Draal's full attention had been focused on the 'Dum star system, when he received the call from the _Enterprise-D_.  He was slightly perturbed at being pulled away from his work, especially when things were so serious that he couldn't afford to waste much time dealing with these frequent distractions.  It was wonderful that there were workers and others that continually maintained the 'Great Machine', therefore allowing him to concentrate on the wonders of the universe.  On the other hand, he had made somewhat of an error in allowing those annoying telepaths onto the planet.  As a whole, they were a rather nice sort even if they were human.  But there were a few that he didn't dare trust.  Because of his connection to the 'Great Machine', he was now telepathic also, the result of his mind being expanded to accommodate the needs of the massive machine itself.  And he 'listened to the leaders of the Psi-Corps, sometimes in fascination, sometimes in repugnance, to the drabble that they fed to their underlings.  The human named Alfred Bester was the loudest and the most rude.  In fact, that was his main mission.  But he wasn't the most dangerous, not by far.  While he remained boisterous, the few others that escaped Clark's purge, hid behind his enormous shadow to do their work behind the scenes.  Several times he caught them trying to telepathically link themselves to his machine and several times he had ejected them most forcefully.  But they never seemed to get the hint, until he threatened to remove them all to the polar-regions.  There, the accommodations were less pleasant. 

"Please be brief, Captain Picard."

"I am sorry to disturb you, but I would like to see Mr. Bester at the earliest opportunity.  And tell him I insist."

"Rest assured that I will," Draal answered.  "Captain," he continued far more soberly.  "They know I have been watching.  They have begun to telepathically jam my intrusions. 

"How are the Shadows faring?"

"I am unsure," he confessed.  "But the battle continues throughout the entire solar system.  Sheridan must hurry and I have told him so."

"Thank you, Draal."

***

As per usual, his holographic image suddenly appearing from nowhere came as somewhat of a shock.  "Alfred Bester.  Captain Picard would have words with you.  For some reason he is not happy," said Draal in his most sober tone. 

Bester was irritated at being summoned by a mundane especially since he had no choice in the matter.  "What does he want?" the man snapped.  "Hasn't he done enough to me?" he asked, motioning at the remains of his nine hundred or so, members of the Psi-Corps huddled together inside makeshift housing units inside a dead world. He felt a little better than a slave subject to the whims of anyone who happened to be around.  Truthfully, he was torn between the urge to run and hide from Picard and the need to see Deanna once more.  He longed for her but the bond had been purged on he side.  His wasn't and it felt like a constant fire in his brain.  

"Tell him I'm busy and I'll have to get back to him later, at a more convenient time." 

"Too late, " the Minbari holograph droned.  "I have given him your coordinates.  Don't move," he added swiftly.  "If you step out of range, I cannot assure you that every piece of you will arrive safely."

Bester's cheeks reddened.   The Minbari was clearly enjoying his fear.  But he didn't dare move and a moment later, after cursing Picard to the high heavens, he faded from the world.

***

Captain Adams, Altaria, his future wife and two members of his crew, and Robby walked down the stairs to meet with the delegates of the station.  This station was different from anything he'd seen before.  The Earth stations he knew were smaller, but didn't have a need to rotate to simulate gravity.  He seriously thought about bringing his hand blaster despite the request that no weapons were allowed but opted to bring Robby instead.  Mobius' little invention was powerful enough to defend them from almost any attack and he was the personification of decorum.  Plus, he was a wonderful intimidation factor.

There was the man called Captain Sheridan and the female alien called Delenn standing very close next to him.  There was also Captain Schall, another woman in a red and black uniform-a human- and two security guards.  They looked friendly enough even if the smiles seemed a little forced.  Robby was doing his job.  Introductions lasted for five minutes.

"May I ask?" Sheridan was clearly stunned and amazed at the robot standing in front of him.  "That is a robot."

"Yes, it is." 

The robot turned his head to face Captain Sheridan.  And it bowed slightly.  "I am monitored to respond to the name Robby."

"Hello," the human woman said.  "I'm Captain Rachel Garret of the Federation Starship _Ambassador_.   It took everything Rachel had not to pull out her tricorder and scan the thing.  

Adams froze.  The uniform seemed identical to he other ship's crew. "You're with a Captain Sasko?"

"Sisko.  Yes.  Did he explain the situation with you?"

"We didn't quite believe him," Adams said somewhat sheepishly.  "But I'm revising my opinion of him."

"He'll be so glad to hear that," Rachel responded dryly  And to her satisfaction he flushed.  "What's done is done.  Robby, I have someone you simply must meet when you have the time."

"I will be delighted, Captain Rachel."

"I know this must be hard," Delenn said.  "But now that you are here, we will do everything we can to get you home, if it is at all possible.  Understand that there are complications."

***

Sitting alone, Anne Sheridan was not pleased at the way things had turned out.  She believed that she might actually be making a small amount of headway with John.  But every time she got close to him, Michael Garibaldi ran interference.  He ran so much interference, that she thought about having him killed just to get a little peace and time alone with John.   Delenn was gone, dealing with her own matters of state. But now, curse her, she was back. The Drazi were fighting the Centauri, Earth was fighting the Centauri and the Drakh, the Minbari were fighting the Drakh and eventually would turn on the Centauri.  The Federation ships were mistrusted by just about everybody, making everything an absolute mess; the purposes of the Shadow war come to fruitation.   John was hardheaded, however she was his wife and that accounted for a lot.  He barely smiled at her and it was obvious that he didn't trust her for an instant, however, sometimes she actually got through to him.  When she did her own heart lit up for a brief second. Why, she wasn't sure.  There was this flash of feeling for him, but it was as though it came from another person and not herself.   And whenever that flash did occur, psychic barriers, implanted into her by the Shadows, had ruthlessly put it down into the depths of her altered mind.

But then something happened.  The rumors abound concerning Z'ha'dum.  There was a battle going on there and try as they might, they couldn't keep the rumors from spreading like wildfire on _Babylon Five_.  As for herself, she couldn't believe that anything could resist the amassed might of the Shadows, but if it were true then her mission had changed.  Her priority was to protect her benefactors.  She needed to return to her home.

"Hello, Mrs. Sheridan," a soft voice made of steel said from behind her.  Startled, she turned and immediately suppressed a groan.  It was the one person she had went out of her way to avoid.  And she had company.

"Ambassador Guinan," she responded as coldly as possible.  Hopefully it would make her go away.  But of course, luck wasn't with her today, which proved itself when the purple-clad woman with the strange eyes sat down, almost pinning her down in her seat.  She was sure that this Guinan wasn't a telepath, but she acted like it and man sitting next to her wasn't what he seemed either.  Whatever they were, they were definite threats and in her mind no better than Vorlons whose very name invoked curses.    

"We have to talk," Guinan said.  "There are things stirring that you can provide clarity."

There was something about this woman that made her want to flee from her presence.   "I don't have to say anything to you, Ambassador," she answered defensively.  

"You're a pawn to the ones called Shadows.  You're trying to distract John from doing what he has to.  And you have no idea why."

"Despite Delenn's presence, I am John's wife and any relationship I do or do not have with him in none of your business.  But for your information, I am doing what I think is best for all concerned.  Now if you will excuse me..."

Guinan didn't move.  "The Shadow world has been attacked.  The fighting is raging over two entire solar systems and it seems that the Shadows are losing.   Right now there is a debate raging.  Half want Z'ha'dum destroyed and the other half are trying to decide if they are worth helping because of this new menace.  Your voice added to the debates could tip the scales."

Anne's heart skipped a beat.  "Z'ha'dum is too strong," she said viciously.  "Not even the Vorlons could defeat them and without the Vorlons, this place will never survive.  John is going up against thousands of years of cultural isolation across a hundred alien worlds.  There is no way this coalition he's trying to put together would work.  And even if it did, the Shadows would destroy anything that could come up against them-including your cute little ships out there and the end would be the same.  John is a fool for trying to make this work."

"Then, it take it, that you still love John," the man said.  He was intensely interested in her answer.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Galen and Guinan is my date for tonight.  Do you love him?" he repeated.

She hated this bald-headed man also.  In many ways he acted too much like Michael.  

"I'm learning to love him," she truthfully answered.  

"Then Mrs. Sheridan, what do you want?"

She laughed long and hard.  "I want what's best for my people," she finally answered.

"Wrong answer," Guinan countered.  "The correct answer is that you have no idea what you want.  You're incapable of answering that question.  You don't even know who you are."

"I beg your pardon," a very angry Anne hissed.  

"The Shadows and Vorlons have one thing in common.  They both use the lesser races like tools.  They care very little for anything that is outside the sphere of influence.  They altered you and used you.  Yet all you can think of is how to protect them.  And you don't even know why."

"They can take care of themselves.  John is mine, not Delenn's.  She knows this.  And you do, too.  This alliance is wrong and I will get him to see this no matter what type of interference is thrown against me."

Squeezing by the two of them, she got up and quickly left, her bodyguards hastily trailing behind.

***

"It is as I said, Ambassador. She has been touched by Shadow and she will never be the same.  My scans conclude that her brain has been altered.  There is no hope for her. "

You are such a pessimist," Guinan responded quickly.  "Why is that?  In fact, why are you even here?  I thought you left for parts unknown."

_Yes_, he thought.  _She knows a lot more than she's telling_.   "I came back," he smirked.  Then he grew somber.  "You recognized me, even with my safeguards.  That's something few people could ever do.  At first, I thought you were one of us.  But you weren't and that intrigued me.  I decided to find out and the more I learned the less I knew."

"So you came back because of me?" she blushed.  "I'm touched; I really am.  But I don't believe you."

"You are a part of the reason."  He cocked his head.  "However there was another reason.  I feel as though I will be needed in the coming times.  My brethren have left because of the rising storm.  They have no wish to become involved with the war with the Shadows.  Our secrets could be compromised and in the wrong hands the chaos would magnify.  But things have changed.  The circle is different."  He smiled devilishly at the way her face responded to that comment. "Your presence and now the presence of the others have changed history as it was meant to be.  I want to make a difference."

"And find out a little about our technology."  He smiled but she waved him off.  "That's not important.  However I hope you don't resort to bugging our rooms anymore.  I WILL know and we'll lose this wonderful friendship we're developing."  Moving closer to him, she said, "there is a plague loose in this universe."

"One of many."

"But this is the worst.  Soon there will be no place to hide.  Your people already know this."

"That is why I am here-to evaluate the threat and see what we can do to help prevent the slaughter.  The Shadows were a threat, but we understood them.  Now these new creatures are something worse.  There seems to be little hope of resistance with this group of bickering politicians here."

"Pessimist," Guinan repeated.

"If you have lived as long as I have, Guinan, you would be also."

"When I was married to my nineteenth husband, three hundred years ago, he said the same thing.  Of course I didn't agree with him.  But my twenty-third was different.  He was ever the optimist."  Here eyes sparkled with amusement.  "Close your mouth Galen."

"Who are you?"

"Simply a woman from another universe, as you well know."  Now her eyes danced as she took in his full measure.  It wasn't common knowledge, but she was fully convinced that was he was aware of where they came from.  "Now, let's have dinner.  I am starved and you're buying.  But remember, just because you're buying doesn't mean I'm easy.  I'm pickier now.  Twenty-three was my limit."

Not known for being at a loss for words, it took him a second or two to answer.  "I wouldn't dream of it, Madam," he said, bowing deeply. In his hands appeared credits.

"Good for you and cute trick by the way," she said.  "One day, I'll show you one of mine."


	17. Girl talk Boy talk

                                            **             Interlude**

A captive male Shadow some members of the younger races (who could wrap their tongues around what little of the name they could.  It was very long) referred to as Xuadishse, was one of those survivors.  Unlike some others of its kind, it had not succumbed to the manipulations of the telepathic influences of its enemies.  The small fighter it was piloting, mortally wounded by a plasma pulse, ceased to function just as another one of the enemy ships had lined him up in its sights.   It fully expected to die in flames, but the Squid-like ship merely pull its helpless prey io one of the larger capital vessels flooding the system. 

Try as it might, Xuadishse could not help being intimidated by the alieness of its captors.  First, they were large creatures, almost twice its size, possessing multiple tentacles and what were undoubtedly cybernetic implants.  Originating from a watery environment, it fully expected the creature's movement to be in a form of a crawl, but these creatures lifted themselves up with their ten tentacles, moving easily across the floor.  It assumed that the aliens used more than just telepathy in order to communicate as their colors constantly flashed from deep violet to bright red and beyond.  Like the Shadows, the Terrors used organic technology, their long tentacles reaching deep into their computer analogs to control their ship's functions.  Xuadishse, like all of his race, had telepathic talents as well.  Carefully, and fighting intense pain, it opened up and reeled against the input slamming into its brain.  Hostility-aggressiveness-hunger-hatred-fear; all of those emotions in an instant registered into the Shadows brain with such violence, that it had immediately closed itself off from any more contact.  But enough was seen to appraise its enemy.  

The creatures histories were his now and the captured Shadow understood.  The Terrors didn't torture, they simple ate, as he unfortunately discovered.  Xuadishse was slowly being eaten alive.  Trained to resist pain, he fought against the telepathic questioning, but the creatures ate as it questioned…

The captor's questioning weren't words as much as transmitted images.  After an eternity and thirty percent limb loss, the Shadow lost control and bared its soul.  

"Where?" The Terror's images asked.  And in Xuadishse's mind flashed two shadow-like vessels-the Centauri hybrid and the Earth copy.  

The creature began chewing on Xuadishse once more.  In shock, the Shadow mind snapped.  A picture of Earth formed in his mind and a second later Centauri burst forth unbidden.  

In between swallows, the Terror pushed more images into his mind and the Shadow told him everything.  "Threats were the Minbari," his images screamed.  "The Vorlons are no more and have left…the others are weak.  Beware the Hand.  The Tashnix are power…"

The tortured Shadow would never know how much information was extracted from him.  In the end, the Terror, satisfied with the information given fell on him, consuming him in an orgy of slaughter and madness. 

***

**Chapter15**

****

**    "Girl talk-Boy talk" **

"It's nice to finally meet you person," Captain Sisko, "Captain Anderson said, looking at the one time adversary. 

"Call me...Leonard, Captain." 

"Okay, Leonard, it is," Sisko responded.  "Then please call me Benjamin." 

"It is a pleasure," Captain Anderson answered. 

And Ben was glad to meet him under more pleasant circumstances. The last time they met, within spitting distance of Earth, they were firing warning shots at one another. Turning slightly, he proceeded to introduce the third member of the party. "This is Command Worf, Son of Morg, First Officer of the Klingon cruiser _K'mpec's Honor_."

Worf bowed slightly. "It is ...interesting to see Human enemies together discussing whatever it is you discuss. If you were Centauri, most Klingons would gut you where you stood." 

Anderson looked at him, not understanding what he meant by the comment. "EarthForce and the Federation may have had some disagreements, but I hope that we can get past that."

The word '_disagreement'_ amused him. "You claim to be EarthForce, but you sit here with your enemies, being polite," he added with distaste. But his tone was not as harsh as his words seemed to indicate.

"If I understand correctly, you were enemies with the Federation for years. But you're here and I don't see any phaser holes in the wall.."

"Circumstances have brought us to this point. But I wish to understand," he continued. "Your government will not look kindly on this unofficial meeting if they discover you have spoken to Captain Sisko."

For a moment Anderson was silent. The Klingon was correct. Other EarthForce personnel could indeed talk to anyone on _B5_ without overt reprisals. But he was not one of them. "You're right," he conceded. "I sent a message through Captain Picard stating to Ben that I was doing well. That one comment made my government considered me a risk and I was given what amounted to a desk job, patrolling between Mars and Earth."

"But you are here," Worf said.

"Yes. I escorted General Brindley here. And there was someone to escort us here."

"I understand," Worf acknowledged. Klingon politics was as bad as the Federation's and in this universe it appeared to be no different either. "Then General Brindley has fallen out of favor with the EarthGov ruling counsel. In Klingon politics, you would have met with an unfortunate accident." 

In the quick silence that followed, Ben realized that Worf wasn't that far off in his assessment. "Why do you remain with EarthForce?"

There was a flash of anger and resentment. But it was clear that it wasn't directed at Worf or Ben, but rather against his own people.

Ben knew.  "He is worried about his family," Ben answered for him.

"I am not a traitor," Leonard said despairingly. "One small message destroyed my career," he coldly stated. "But," he continued. "Clark and his people will not mess with my family. They've done too much of that already and the people are about ready to rebel. He has to walk a fine line now, with the Centauri war taking so up so many resources. You hurt us badly with that recorded message. Psi-Corps was put down like rabid dogs and Clark's resources dropped measurably. The best thing that could have happened for him was this war. The people rallied to him and his popularity polls actually went up. However, he's afraid to antagonize EarthForce too much because if they want him, they can get him and he knows it. So he created a scapegoat, General Brindley. His failure to secure your ships destroyed his career."

"Then why is he here?"

"Why _am_ I here?" he countered. "Ask Captain Clark."

For the next five minutes, there was no talk between them, simply drinking and shared contemplation. 

"Join the resistance," Ben said to him. "There are more and more joining every day. And it's not because of the fighting, but because of a shared desire to correct the wrongs in your government.

"I can't," came the answer after a moment. "I have a responsibility to my government and if I do anything, it will be from within the legitimate rules and regulations set up by the constitution. And I believe you would say the exact same thing." He nodded his head, as both the Federation Captain and Klingon Commander agreed. "So, Commander Worf," he said changing the subject, " How would you evaluate the Drakh destroyer's combat ability?"

By now, everyone had heard of the fight between the Narns and the Drakh ambush that had occurred before the Proxima III attack. "The Drakh weapons are formidable," Worf answered. "And the Narn warships would not have survived if they had not been modified with Klingon technology," he added proudly. An Earth warship would be hard-pressed to survive on its own against one of their destroyers. We disabled or destroyed several of their smaller ships and one or two of their heavier attackers to allow the Narn time to escape. Combined with the Centauri Empire, alone Earth would then suffer the fate of the Narn home world. Joining with the Minbari was wise then to ensure your survival."

"We haven't joined them as much as have an agreement with them since we're fighting the same enemy." It was less than fourteen years between the war between earth and Minbari and many of the old wounds hadn't healed. 

"Then, you are fools," Worf said evenly. "Your survival is in doubt."

"Between internal politics and those trying to kill us, you may very well be correct. But, I will fight for my people as long as there is strength in me."

Worf smiled at Leonard's answer. His sharpened teeth gleamed. "You speak of honor. Do you have family?"

"Yes, my wife and daughter, my father and …"

Before he could continue, a junior officer walked up and stood stiffly behind him. "Sir," Cheryl Chambers said. "Captain Sheridan and General Brindley request your presence in CnC."

That's when he noticed the change in Ben, something he understood quite well, as he'd seen it all too often. His no-nonsense junior Navigational Officer was gorgeous. Between her and her twin sister Sarah, a doctor in the civilian sector, a lot of hearts had been broken. They had another, younger sister somewhere on Earth, but he had never met her. She was rumored to be just as pretty-and smart. 

However, Ben seemed impressed by what he saw and by the intensity that Cheryl was completely ignoring him, the feeling was mutual. In fact, she was completely obsessed with the _Yeager_ and had gone over every bit of data as it warped out from the Sol system, months ago. The type of FTL drive system they used was unheard of and she spent weeks in her spare time trying to understand the physics involved. But now she seemed indifferent, just like her sister did when something other than medicine jumped into the conversation. It must have been a family trait-something he was about to test. He already suspected the truth. After all, she could have just used the com-link to contact him.

"Captain Sisko, Commander Worf, this is my navigator Second Lieutenant Cheryl Chambers. I would love to continue the conversation, but duty calls. Maybe we can do this again." He got up to leave and Worf, noticing the same signals flowing back and forth between the two of them, got up to leave also. 

"I must return to my ship," Worf said. "We will soon be leaving."

"Success, Commander Worf," Sisko said meaning every word. 

"To glorious victory." 

***

Ben's full attention turned to the woman standing in front of him. This was the first time anyone had so captured his attention since he lost his wife. He intended to make the most of it. "So Lieutenant, you were on the _Charon_ when the _Yeager _was in Earth's system?"

"Yes, Captain," she answered dryly and he was relieved that he had guessed rightly. "You upset the entire EarthForce security network when you just happen to appear out of nowhere."

"I guess so. That _was_ the point, after all."

"Sir, may I ask as a question?"

"Yes, Lieutenant. Feel free."

"How do you, navigate at such speeds in non-normal space? As you know sir, we use beacons to help us get from point A to point B. How can your computer calculate the proper positioning vectors in non-normal space?"

"Our sensors do it on the fly," he answered easily, and then proceeded to go into a long detailed explanation only an engineer could love. "Would you care to sit down?"

"Yes sir, thank you," she responded, sitting quickly. 

"I am not your superior officer," he countered. "So, lets' do away with the formalities. I'm Benjamin Sisko."

"I'm Cheryl Chambers," she responded as she sat down in Worf's vacated chair. "My military forces don't know what to make of you," she said. "Everything you are, the cultures you represent are different from anything we've come to expect from humans. Frankly, your advancements in physics makes us nervous.  Intel and Strategic operations analyzed every single move your people made in the Proxima fight.  The _Enterprise__'s_ speed and maneuverability is nothing short of amazing.  The same goes for your offensive and defensive capabilities.  If we had had you on our side during the Minbari war, it would have turned out completely differently.  Our ships can't compete with that sort of power.  You're at least a hundred years in front of us.  We're still are not advanced enough to even able to overcome our gravity limitations.   When your ships accelerate, you create inertia forces strong enough crush our crews into paste.  And that's just one example of what I'm talking about." 

Ben noticed that she was very straightforward.  

"Scuttlebutt is that the Proxima III battlegroup wants to make you honorary members of EarthForce. Some of the others are really scared of what you and a fleet of your ships could do to us. And the rest of us  are simply relieved that we're trying to work together. And you could have damaged the _Charon_, but you didn't."

"It was unnecessary and wasteful to take life simply to make a point. Besides your Captain didn't hit me and I made sure I didn't hit the _Charon_ back.."  His smile was absolutely predatory. 

"We weren't close enough to get a confirmed target lock.  It was a ranging shot," Cheryl insisted.  

"Mine wasn't," he said. He could almost see the chill running down her back. 

"Will you invade us?" There, she said it. She prayed that she wasn't insulting him too much by asking that question.

There was something about her intensity that almost entranced him.  "We have better things to do than invade your world, Cheryl.  When we came to this area of space, the first things I heard was your ISN news-feed talking about alien conspiracies and peace and justice, while you were bombing your own people. We were strangers here, ones who chose to fight against what we saw as oppression against fellow humans and other intelligent beings. You attacked your own colonies, including _B5_. We're talking about the beginnings of a second civil war! Leaving you to our own problems was seriously considered, but instead we chose to make a stand."

"We wanted to come to Earth, walk on its soil, and enjoy a little peace and quiet while we tried to find a way back to where we belonged. There could have been an exchange of technologies and information. Both our cultures could have benefited from what we could have learned from each other. The Federation would never invade your people or even your area of space. It's not part of our charter. We believe in peaceful contact, which is exactly opposite of what has happen since we got here."

"So you won't invade us?"

"Cheryl," he said.  She wasn't hearing what he was trying to tell her.  "We will never invade you.  The Federation has enough problems without beginning to even think about invading anybody.  We-don't-invade.  Besides, the rumors are true and you know which ones I am talking about. Now, changing the subject slightly, would you like to have dinner?"

"Sorry," she shrugged. "I am on duty."  She blinked as she realized that she _was _sorry. "Maybe some other time?" _I hope._

"Yes. I will be looking forward to it."

"I believe I will also. I'll call you, Ben."

Reluctantly, Ben watched her leave. He seriously hoped that she would call. 

*** 

A very tired Michael nearly flopped into the chair offered to him by an equally stressed John. "Lightning has stuck twice. Can you believe it? It's a real honest-to-God Terran flying saucer complete with robot. What next?" He was completely exasperated and was laughing to himself. Did you see that thing?"

"Yes, Michael, I saw it." He was equally amused. 

"Half the station saw it. I had to place guards around the entire group to keep people from trying to touch the thing. Not that they would if they could have."

"Yes, it's amazing," John said. "In a way it looks so primitive but it represents something that our sciences can't duplicate."

"John," he cautioned. "I thought so, too. But I have changed my mind. Adams said if we can come to an agreement, they might share some of the technology with us. The composite metal Robby is made out of is harder than anything I've ever seen, but it's flexible. Watching it walking up and down stairs is one of the strangest things I have ever seen and I seen a lot of strange stuff."

"I know," John said. "I talked to Adams and to Robby. It was a unique experience."

"Like talking to Data?" He was glad he could talk about Data. For obvious reasons, it wasn't common knowledge that Data was an android. Most knew him as an exotic Federation alien of some sort.

"Yes and no. His command of language was better than Data's but at the same time, it seemed far more subservient, more like the A.I. on B5 but a thousand times better-and more pleasant. His processor is more powerful than our entire computer core, just like Data's. And he's a lot stronger than anything I've seen. He can lift and walk away two of our shuttles if he wants to. He also has a built-in replicator."

That caught his attention. "Like the Federation's?"

"Yes, but it works on a completely different principle. He whipped up some of his composite metal. 'Krell' alloy he called it. Our people are busting their chops examining it now."

"When I sighed up for this gig, I didn't expect to get visitors from other realities knocking at the door every other day."

"The rift is closed, Michael."

"So I've heard," he answered. "Deanna," he said, by way of explanation. 

"Then you're finally beginning to believe that they are from another reality."

Michael simply shrugged and then grinned.  "With everything's that happened?  I'm convinced now.  But it wasn't the big things that finally did it. It was all of the small things adding together.  As you know, I'm not the most trusting person around."

"Yes," John said dryly.  "What convinced you?"

"It was a small gift from Deanna," he answered.  "She gave me some recordings and those were what finally convinced me."

"What were they?"

" It was 'Duck Dodgers of the twenty-fours and a half century'.  You know I love the Warner brothers cartoons and I love Daffy duck.  But here, there were less than five vids made of the DD's.  On the _Ambassador_, she found the compete series, two years worth.    They are real and our earth never made those because I checked just to make sure.  That's what convinced me."  

John's eyebrows raised a notch. "Are you two…?"

"Relax.  We're just talking," he answered hastily. "And after all this time, I'm not sure about her. She's definitely empathic and when I'm around her, it drives me up the wall because it's so darn hard trying to keep things from her. And I know she's trying, but she does it like you or I would use our eyes. She sees nothing wrong with it and from her point of view, there isn't. But you and I have know how Psi-Corps has worked all these years."

"And old prejudices die hard," John finished for him. 

"I have to admit that that's true. Lyta is different. She's human, from our reality," he added. "And because of that, I understand her and the culture she's been raised in. And you know what they did with Talia."

John said nothing as he noticed the anger in Michael's voice. Talia Winters was part of the Psi-Corps and unknowing to anyone, including herself; she was a deep cover spy for Psi-Corps. Lyta discovered the truth and blew her cover. By those actions, Talia's personality was destroyed and the implant took over. She returned to Earth and died soon after, very likely by the hands of Psi-Corps, who, as rumored by Alfred Bester, 'accidentally' slipped up and told Michael that they had dissected her. Michael wanted to kill Bester right then and there. John had always wondered what might have happened between those two; but, there was no hope for that, now. 

"I have to adjust to her and her differences," he stated. "And," he sighed. I am getting used to her. She's been through a lot of hurt, and I understand that kind of pain. That's something we have in common." 

"Do you believe it's possible that you two have a chance?"

"Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Despite the differences, I think that we can at least give it a good try. I said that I understand the pain, but I'm beginning to understand the woman and I like what I've seen. I'm just happy that her mother isn't here.  From what I understand, she'd probably turn the entire Earth on its collective ear." 

John thought about it. Michael was embarking on an interesting journey, much like his. Delenn.  Anna.  

-His past and his present together, on this same station. 

Anna was his great love. But this person _on B5_ wasn't the woman he married. Her soul, as he knew it, no longer existed. Only the body and something transplanted inside of her remained. And that was the question. "Michael, when we love someone, do we love the body or the soul?"

"Trick question, Captain. I don't know if there is such a thing as a soul. But for argument's sake, I would say that it's the soul that's important. When it comes down to it, no matter what you call it that is what really defines your relationship to one another."

For better or worse, those words continued to cross his mind over and over since she first came back. "I have a responsibility to help Anne, but she's_ not _the woman I married. That soul is no longer there."

"I don't envy you position, John."

"I have to find Delenn. I need her."

Thirty minutes later he discovered that he'd been correct. 

***


	18. Girl's night out

**Chapter 16**

**                                                "Girl's night out" **

A very reluctant Commander Susan Ivanova continued her journey towards the holographic chamber in _Babylon Five_. She was headed towardst was the teaching center, a large room temporally being rented by Captain Garrett. Susan wasn't in the mood for this and didn't want to be here, but here she was and it better be good she thought.  There were suspicions as to what this meeting was about and her face soured.  And being slightly defensive, she came in with an attitude.  Another lecture was the last thing she needed and now that she had a few moments of time to herself, she didn't want to share it with yet another Captain berating her about her performance. The  Commander had done enough of that to herself.  

She saw Marcus coming out, smiling that almost outlandish smile of his, teeth and eyes glistening as he walked by. He eyed her intently.

"What's your problem?" she said glaring at him.

"Just enjoying the view, Susan."  Quickly he continued on his way while Susan burned holes in his back.

When he was out of sight, she sighed. Why was it, she couldn't simply talk to the man like a civilized human being? She knew that she cared for him, but it was that he was so British-y weird. _Was that_ _even a word?_ Then she got mad again because that was exactly how he made her respond when he was around. It was so obvious.  The man loved her, but she couldn't return that affection back to him.  After all, she was Russian.  Bad things happened when a Russian was happy.  Entranced 

The doors opened and she walked inside. Once inside the room, the entire scene changed. Speechless, Susan moved deeper into what her mind told her was an expanse.  This couldn't be the teaching auditorium she thought.  The mind knew better but the heart and eyes saw something else.  She could have sworn that the room was now the surface of a planet, and she was near a beach judging from the sand and the bluish-green ocean water gently lapping at the shoreline. There was a wooden table filled with food near the edge of the shore. The ocean water lapped gently at the shore and the air temperature was perfect.  The sky was a beautiful blue-green color.  The air smelled of alien flowers and honeysuckle.  The terrain looked like a cross between Tahiti and some alien star system with its two ringed moons hanging lazily in the sky. The air, the smells, even the slight change in gravity added to the effect. Despite her mood, this experience was spellbinding and she hated being affected like this when she was feeling depressed. Especially impressive were the five very good looking male waiters just waiting to be of service.   A sound emanating from the sky caught her attention and looking up, in the far off distance, she swore she could see the outline a dragon flying at least a half-mile high. It dodged and weaved playfully within the clouds, chasing another dragon.  No doubt about it, this was impressive.

"Welcome to Berengaria VII," Rachel said walking up beside her. "Here there be dragons."   Once more there was the sound of the dragons bellowing its mating call in the distance.

Captain Garret greeted her warmly and behind her she saw Captain Clark, Captain Hiroshi, Ambassador Delenn, B'Elanna Torres and Doctor Troi were there. The scene was so captivating that her mind hadn't even registered the others being there.  "This is 'girl's night out'. First names only, please," she said, hustling a more relaxed Susan into the holodeck. 

Within moments, everyone was seated and Rachel began. "First of all, I want to thank all for you for coming at such notice. I wish to speak to those involved in some manner with the upcoming mission and I wanted us to do it in a relaxed atmosphere.   Most of us know each other, with the exception of Captain Clark of EarthForce," she announced, looking directly at Charlotte as she spoke. "At this time, there is a sort of peace treaty with your people and I wish that it will remain that way. Since I've been here, our contacts have not gone as well as I would have liked." 

Susan simply rolled her eyes at that comment.  It would almost have been amusing if not for the fact that it involved the death of hundreds of men and women, the bitterness and distrust that has ensued, loss of equipment and the acute heartache, affecting an entire planet.   

"Your name and relationship with the President does not inspire confidence in me," Rachel continued.  "And since you've volunteered, I want to know a little bit more about you. Otherwise I will have to turn you and your offer down."

Charlotte bristled at the arrogance of the Federation Captain. "I don't recognize your authority in this Captain," she growled.  "And I resent your tone. I have done nothing to merit this behavior other than baring the legit surname I was born with. Whether you agree or not, I can go," she said confidently. "And I don't believe you would fire on me if I chose to go along. I wouldn't recommend it, either."

"You misunderstand me," Rachel answered. "I wouldn't consider firing on your ship unless you gave me provocation to do so. Besides, it's not that much of a threat," she answered rising to the challenge.   Her smile got larger as Charlotte once again bristled. "This is simply a getting to know you better party of sorts. Speaking of which, precisely how are you going to get to the star system?"

Charlotte said nothing for a moment as she thought of the implications of that question. "If you intend to sabotage my ship, it'll be considered an act of war," she said carefully. Centauri war or not, the entire EAS will come down on you!"

"Please, Captain. I merely asked a question. From here, it'll take you two months in hyperspace to get there, at full burn. But," she added, "not us. What I am doing now is simply laying ground rules for this upcoming little trek here."

"I agree with Captain Garrett," Delenn added. "You government has no idea of the danger you have in your possession. Even the smallest miscalculation of Shadow technology might well be enough to destroy you. The Drakh use similar technology, but not shadow tech itself, because it is too dangerous if not handled properly. But the question still remains-how are you going to get there?"

Clark had been at the very edge of changing her opinion concerning these people and now, they had ambushed her. Her cousin had ruined her life, marked her as the one to be suspicious of forever. "This is free space," the ESA Captain retorted. "You can't stop me from following if I chose to."

"True," Rachel conceded. "But-"

"I am not here to sabotage you or your mission, Ambassador, or you Captain Garrett, or you Captain Hiroshi," she stated. "First off, I came here because I was invited by a bunch of people who would gladly serve my head on a platter to my cousin. I wanted to get to know the people that I was about to put my life on the line for," Charlotte hissed.  "You don't trust me? Fine," she said. "I certainly don't trust you, either." Quickly she did a fist evaluation of everyone in the room before continuing.

 "You want to talk trust?  Okay let's do it.  "I'm surrounded by a military commander who turned her back on her own government," she said looking straight at Sandra.  There was steel in her eyes where there was anger a moment before. 

 "Then, there is you, Ambassador Delenn. First contact went bad and the only thing you and your people could think of was to drench yourselves up to your eyeballs in the blood of a people who couldn't defend themselves against your power.  Your people came within a hair's breath of killing every human man, woman and child less than fifteen years ago. Delenn you and your people committed crimes that still horrify every other species who hears of them.  Frenzied butchers, killing in the name of revenge making it some kind of holy war-an excuse to kill without being hurt in return.   And you did it because your so-called civilization enjoyed slaughtering a technologically inferior species.  I've always wondered if we had been more technologically advanced would you have let the war continue so long with out even attempting to come to terms with us.  

She then turned to face Rachael.  "Let's not forget about you, Captain Garrett of the great, shiny little ships, able to reap havoc everywhere you go.  EarthForces' threat evaluation has placed you on the scale with the Minbari…" 

With those words, a truth was addressed, perhaps for the first time. There were no innocents in the room. There was simply a group of people trying to figure out their place in this universe. "Trust? From whom?"

"I know these people," Rachel answered. "I've become friends with them." _Even with_ _Delenn,_ she thought wryly. She was glad that she and her people hadn't had to fire upon the Minbari. "And as you have correctly implied, there are no innocents in this room."  "But I have come to respect and depend on them.  The question is will we be able to depend on you?"

"I can say the same thing," Charlotte retorted. "This is important to me. I'm not about to screw this up and get people killed. I can make a difference.  But trust is a two y\way process."

Rachel said nothing and Charlotte watched as she seemed to confer with the dark haired woman with the large eyes. Delenn talked with her also.

For some reason the Federation Captain begin laughing. "I have to stay away from you," Charlotte caught her saying. "You could become a habit." Delenn was smiling also.

"You seem to have passed the test," Rachel told her.

"Thank you," she responded icily. "What is she?' she asked looking suspiciously at Deanna who returned her stare as if to say, so what? A telepath?"

"Actually she's a Betazoid."

The reply was sour. "What's the difference?"

"There's a universe of difference, Captain. She's not bound by your rules.  She's not human but Betazoid, a separate species not subjected to human rules and regulations.  But Deanna didn't tell me anything more than I already knew." She offered her a seat. "I will accept your offer Charlotte," Rachel announced. "We'll probably need all the help we can get. Now I asked twice how are you going to get to Z'ha'dum and there was a reason for that."

"My ship is one of the fastest in Earth Force. Believe me; I will keep up, if that's what you are worried about." She was fuming at the sheer audacity of this woman.   The Federation sense of superiority infuriated her. 

"No, you can't," Rachel replied. "Not without our help. "_White Star Three _and my ship will be using a much faster form of FTL propulsion than you are capable of. And as such neither you, nor the Minbari cruiser will be able to keep up. This means we will have to tow you both. Your ship will be tractored to mine. Once that is done, my ship will have to generate a warp field large enough to pull you close to warp one in hyperspace. Using warp drive in hyperspace produces a much faster speed than either system could match alone. A two month journey will take four days."

"Four days!" Immediately, she chided herself for her response. It came out before she could stop it. 

"Yes. But we will not be traveling at warp one but approximately warp point eight, because the much smaller _White Star_ must generate the warp field for the Sharlin. So for safety's sake the trip will take six days going." 

***

With undisguised interest, Delenn watched the humans as they played their little game of dominance. The EAS Captain's comments had cut her to the core.  Truth did more than hurt, it tore and splintered, leaving terrible bruises and damaged spirits in its wake.  Delenn's remorse-filled words started the jihad.  She had so much innocent blood on her hands that she could never share that with John.  Idly, she wondered how Neroon would respond to that blistering retort from a human? _Not_ _well_, she imagined.

Rachel was intimidating the EAS Captain as much as possible. She planned to be the Alpha female, as the Humans understood such things. Sometimes humans seemed so perplexing and at other times, watching them was like looking at a mirror. They were so full of contradictions and pent up anger. But at the same time, in this room, all of them were coming together, despite their differences and suspicions. Was it blood calling to blood? She wasn't sure. B'Elanna, Deanna and as strange as it was to admit it, herself, were only partly 'blended' but the humans had reached out to the three of them like long-lost sisters. Humans were well known to build communities like _Babylon Five_ easily accepting other species into their ranks. And from what she read of the humans from the other universe, they began the same thing with the Federation.  They could have become a powerful empire, but they chose not to.

She had spoken to Susan and a few other Human females on occasion but had never, ever sat down and simply enjoyed their company in the fashion they were doing now. She didn't know what to talk about. She concluded that she would let them lead the conversation. B'Elanna was the youngest woman here and from the look of it, the most uncomfortable. 

She sat down next to her and put on her most diplomatic smile. "This setting is most beautiful, don't you agree?" she asked. The young woman simply nodded nervously. "My world is so different," she continued. "Minbar is the seventh planet from their sun. The northern quarter is covered by a polar icecap and because of that our cities are cut from the crystal deposits. It is beautiful and now there is even more of a balance between the three classes. There is peace."

B'Elanna turned towards her. "I probably wouldn't like it there."

"Why not?"

"I'm part Klingon," she answered as though it summed up everything. "That part of myself pulls at me. I can barely suppress my anger, which wants to flare out at just about any given provocation. Don't get me wrong. I like being on the _Ambassador_ and _B5. _I have felt a freedom here that I have never experience with the Klingons." Since being onboard the _Ambassador_, she had immersed herself in Human culture. She wasn't greatly loved by most of the crew, but they didn't harass her as much as she had expected. Some even seemed to accept. "But the more I'm here, away from the Klingons, the more I hate being around them, with the exception of Commander Worf. But I can't run from myself, my Klingon half."

"You can't run from yourself," agreed Delenn. "You should embrace your heritage. But you are still young and even if you hear this, you will not fully understand my words.  That true understanding comes only with age. And when that time comes, you will understand who and what you are. And you will remember this talk," she said smiling warmly.

The young woman snorted. "I can't do that. You don't know what it's like to lose control and want to hurt those who have hurt you."

Softer than she should have: "yes, I do," she said to a shocked B'Elanna. "I have learned to control my anger or I could once more cause untold harm. There must be a balance. You believe your Klingon half is a hindrance, but it may well be a strength you are denying yourself."

"That's what Deanna told me."

"What she said to you is true. The universe constantly forces us to change, sometimes in surprising ways. The Klingons and the Narns have become something different that what they once were only a few months ago. Even you have changed. From what I've heard, you are becoming quite an engineer. And your friend Arthur Jensen…?"

Did everyone know her business? She and Security officer Jensen had become a little more than just friends. For some reason the red-haired, freckle-faced man really cared for her. That a human man could have feelings for her was more than a bit frightening. 

Feeling uncomfortable discussing her personal life, she changed the subject. "As a teacher, Lieutenant Commander Facar is excellent teacher, even if he is Vulcan," which to her meant boring.

"Sometimes, things worth learning are necessarily boring."

***

Twenty minutes later, they were all eating. Susan felt Rachel staring at her and she flushed slightly. She knew. There was a saying on _B5_- rumors moved faster than BAB-COM communications-and it had proved itself true once more. Now the woman was about to give a toast. Oh joy.  She did not want to be here.  Even if it was breathtaking; maybe she could excuse herself early she thought.  But the eight different types of chocolate kept pulling her back to her seat.

"There was a time," Rachel began, "when I was told that I would receive the Federation Starship _Ent_…_Ambassador_ as my new command, I couldn't decide whether to jump up and down and kiss retired Admiral Sulu or politely turn it down and head for the hills. It was a big responsibility. The flagship of the Federation was given to me and deep down I wasn't sure I was worthy. But that self-doubt lasted all of three seconds, when I got my first look at her. It was mine and I was proud. The crew was young and eager as was their Captain. I was surprised that they offered me the _Ambassador_ considering how well I preformed with my previous assignment during the time of the Cardassian incursions. Two of their warships invaded Federation space and I just happened to be in the neighborhood and the closest ship available. The _Everest_ was a smaller ship and essentially no match for the heavy Cardassian vessels, but I boldly went to the fore and engaged two ships twice my size and twice my power." Ruefully, she shook her head against the memory. "My ship was drilled several times by Cardi disruptors. I lost life support and twenty-five good crewmen, including my Chief Medical officer. The only good thing that happened that day was that I was responsible for preventing a raid on one of our major colonies in that sector.  When I limped into Starbase 106, I was soundly blasted by everybody from the Admiral in charge, all the way down to two senior Captains for placing my ship in the line of fire. My mother even said a few choice words. It wasn't what I did, but the way I did it. I allowed my emotions get in the way of my duty."

"Years later, I ran into another incident at the Klingon colony of Narendra III. They were attacked by four Romulan warbirds and had called for help. You can imagine what I was thinking. I was placed in the exact same situation, but this time there was only my ship, no outside help. I could do one of two things; stay and help, or simply leave. There's something called the Kobiyashi Maru, which I won't get into now, but it's essentially a test of character. This time, there were no options. And there was no choice. It was a suicide mission, an attempt to save a group of helpless colonists who would not have care less about us. I did it, not because I hated the Romulans but because it was the correct thing to do. Guess what? I lost."

Despite herself, Susan was captivated by the story. This _Kobiyashi Maru_ test seemed interesting.  She had seen the _Ambassador's _database and had briefly read some of what Rachel was talking about, but there had been gaps. She wanted desperately to know what happened, but Rachel was purposely avoiding looking in her direction. 

"We should have all died, that day but fate, or something," Rachel, amused by the irony suppressed her smile, "intervened. We were brought here. I want all of you to know and understand. You, Sandra, Ambassador Delenn, and you Charlotte. We'll be out there on our own with no one to rely on except ourselves. I will support you with everything I have and I expect no less from you." 

She was looking at all of them, but Susan knew that this was directed towards the EAS Captain, B'Elanna -and her. Essentially, Rachel was telling her to learn from her mistakes. She'd get another chance.

"To life," Rachel said.

"To life!" all of them repeated. 

***

USS _Enterprise_:

"Back in the cage again," Bester was singing. It wasn't the same cell as he had been in previously but the conditions were the same, even the guards. The force field blocking his freedom was again in opaque mode, but he could feel the tension increasing. Picard was coming. His hunch was confirmed when the shield became transparent and he found himself face to face with a very harsh looking Picard. _So nice to see you again_ he thought harshly. 

Sandwiched between two rather large aliens known as Vulcans, Picard's aura seemed to be growing colder by the second. "Mr. Bester," he started. "You endangered my ship and this crew."

For a moment Alfred was startled. He hadn't done anything to this crew since he'd return with the refugees. "I don't know what you're talking about, Captain. I have done nothing to interfere with you or your crew, as much as I would have like to, I admit."

"You seem to have a selected memory, Mister Bester. I told you once that I could have you shot for what you did. Against my better judgment, I returned you unharmed to your government with a warning. It was my hope that you would have conducted yourself with a measure of decorum, but apparently I was mistaken."

A chill ran down Bester's spine. Somehow Picard knew about his giving of the shield frequencies to EarthForce; he was sure of it. He cocked his head. "That was during a time in which we were at war with you, Captain. It was my sworn duty to help my government in any way against the forces that threatened to destroy it. I did what I was supposed to do. But," he continued. "For my actions, the Psi-Corps was nearly destroyed, innocent people were killed and only a few of us were able to escape with our lives, and it's all your fault.  You deliberately attempted to subvert Earth unity for your own purposes. You talk about me, but it's you who are the real invaders. And it's my duty to protect my people from the likes of you." 

To his chagrin, Picard broke into a wide smile. "Your actions had nothing to with the protection of your people as much as it was for your petty intrigues. I have read Deanna's report in detail."

"That was the imaginations of a hyperactive mind, Captain. Even a telepath couldn't have found out that much information, even if true in such a short period of time. And it was my words against her thoughts. The thoughts of an alien I might add. It is illegal in a court of law."

Picard agreed with him. "However, whether it was legal or not, your President Clark believed it and that is why you have found yourself in this present situation. But the fact is you passed on military information of a confidential nature to Earth Force during a time of war. And that makes you a spy."

Bester involuntarily gulped. "An undeclared war," he protested.  "I performed my duty as a Psi-Cop and as a member of the Psi-Corps to the best of my ability, I am proud to have done so."

"You cover the truth with lies and legalities, Bester," Picard said. He paused for a moment, waiting. Bester said nothing so again he heard Picard use the word 'lies'.

"Lies, Mr. Bester. You gave EarthForce the information out a need for petty revenge. I will admit that you may have passed along what you learned out of a secondary concern for the welfare of your planet. But your primary motivation was to get back at those who resisted you manipulations.   And that is the reason why you are here, Mister Bester."  Picard's voice was barely above a whisper and all the more terrifying for it.

Bester felt like a trapped animal, having no idea what fate was in store for him. 

"Captain Sisko has expressed a rather fervent desire to handle your case, however, I felt better qualified to deal with you."

"Anything that you do to me will have serious repercussions in the future."  He was trying to remain calm but he knew he was faltering.  And those Vulcans, with their alien minds were somehow keeping him from striking out against Picard and the others near him.  He felt like a trapped animal.  

"Equal and opposite reactions," Picard mused. He touched his com-badge. "Dr. Crusher to the brig," he casually ordered. 

A few minutes later, the formally red-haired doctor entered carrying something that looked like a high-tech syringe. To his shock, four more Psi-Corps members, including Janice, appeared in the same cell. They were alive, but unconscious.

"I am responsible for my people here," Picard reiterated. "You and your leaders who sanctioned your actions are being held responsible for those actions. This ship is Federation territory and subjected to the rules and regulations of the Federation. I could have you executed. But I will be lenient once more," he added. "This particular medication, Doctor Crusher is holding will permanently erase your telepathic abilities. In low doses it causes temporary memory lose among non-telepaths and a temporary blockage of telepathic abilities in Betazoids. In higher doses, the effects are severe and permanent as it selectively disconnects the synapses that produces telepathy in humans. You and the others are not immune to the effects.   We choose not to do this the first time because lower doses may not have been as effective to one of your-stature. However, events have changed.  Your actions have allowed me to choose this option."

"You can't do this!" Bester blanched. He couldn't imagine being a Mundane, didn't want to imagine this. He was terrified. He'd rather be dead. Panicked, he viciously slammed himself against the energy barrier, in a bid for freedom.   He wanted to be anywhere than here, even if it meant his death. 

The resultant feedback knocked him semi-unconscious. The last words he heard was Picard saying to his security guard was to make sure that they were stunned, then ordered that the force field be lowered to allow Doctor Crusher entry.  A guard pointing a weapon fired.  He felt a shock and terrifyingly, everything went black. 

***


	19. Journeys: The First Steps

_Quick notes:_

_Thietje: I did a baaad thing. The Meeting place Part I and Part II. The Part II referred to part two of them as opposed to another chapter._

_Nebula: Thanks again for the comments:_

_Canis Black: Kinsey became President. It didn't last long…History for the future._

_Kevin and Grochek: Bester has permanently lost his telepathy. However his memory imprint with Deanna lives on in repeat mode and it is drying him crazy along with is loss. The telepath war will not occur and Mars and its resistance…well ask Clark in a few chapters._

_Superfan: I'm trying to convey that this Picard is a lot colder than his other counterpart. In fact all of the Feddies are. This is good or bad depending on what side you are on. Of course, a little more on this later. _

_Now, without further ado, on with the story._

*******

**A special thanks to Mr. Major Diarrhia for his insights and comments on this chapter.  The changes made have been directly influenced by his comments.  Thanks again, Sir. AlbertG**

**Chapter 17**

**                                                   "Journeys: The first Steps"**

**_Babylon Five_:**

Commander Susan Ivanova and the other personnel of CnC peered out the front window at the largest military buildup they'd ever seen at the _Babylon_ station.   Most of the ships were EA Resistance under the command of Major Ryan who just returned from Drazi border regions.  On the other side were the EA Loyalists, separated by a healthy distance one from one another.  There were three Minbari ships-of-the-lines orbiting the station adding their power to the overall security of the beleaguered space station.  A few were Narn vessels of every description, preparing for a major strike against the Centauri.  They were the remainder of the surviving Narn vessels, about twenty heavy and medium ships in all.  The first group of ten was just leaving with the _K'mpec's Honor_.  

The Klingons had a saying-that they stole from Shakespeare she sincerely believed- revenge is a dish best served cold.  It was going to become very chilly for the Centauri.  She suspected where the strike would take place but so far no one was talking to the _B5_ Corps, and therefore she couldn't be absolutely sure.  But still, if she were in the Narn shoes, knowing what she knew, then the Centauri forces were in for some rough times.

Four other vessels, huddled together, also prepared for a journey their own.  _White Star _Three_,_ under the command of Sandra Hiroshi, Captain Kanyunn of the Minbari spaceship whose name translated as _Blue Nova,_ the _Ambassador_ and the EAS _Paphos_ were now moving towards the gate.   That was where Susan wanted to be right now; with them.   But she squashed those feelings down into the depths of her soul.  Her place was here, right now, as so many people had constantly informed her.  Her time would come sooner rather than later.  And she needed to reflect on what had been said in the last few days.  And she took a little consolation in the fact that Captain Sheridan had remained behind on _B5_ as well. 

The jumpgate blazed with other-dimensional energy as it roared to life.  "Jump gate activated," Susan announce to the four ships.  "You're good to go.  Good luck," Susan said with absolute conviction. 

"Captain Garrett to Commander Ivanova."

"Yes, Captain?"

"I have a gift prepared for you in the holodeck.  It's a program called the _Kobayashi Maru _scenario.  You'll get chance command a Federation Starship on a rescue mission or you can reprogram it to use an _Omega_ if you wish. You can do it on your own or you can handpick your crew from colleagues. When we get back, I want your opinion on it."

"Exactly what type of program is it?"  

The Captain laughed.  "You have such a suspicious nature.  It's just that all of our command staff has to go experience that program at least once.  Trust me you'll love it."

***

Four vessels, created by four different cultures; Human, Federation, Minbari, and Shadow, entered the swirling hyperspace maelstrom and held position one light minute away from the gate.  They carried with them official representatives of almost every race of the major powers and of the non-aligned governments including the now abandoned Vorlon, Kosh.  Invited to see what dangers the universe had in store for them, they came.  For some it was because of curiosity.  For some it was fear that motivated them.  There were those who simply came because they didn't want to be left out and there were those who wished to experience what adventures that might exist out there. Almost all of the races accompanying the small convoy had never been allowed onto the feared and mysterious _Sharlin_-class Minbari starships.  

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity not to be missed and several were ready to experience it.  The Minbari very rarely allowed others not of their race, onto their warships.  Shrouded in mystery, this was a time of enlightenment for those representatives bold enough to travel with people who walked the stars with Vorlons a thousand years earlier.

However, the main body of governmental officials resided on the USS _Ambassador_, now living up to its name.  Unlike the other ships, the Federation starship sported several high quality guest quarters that were able to maintain a variety of environments.  Combined with the lavish conference rooms and diplomatic quarters, and heavy-duty protection that the vessel offered, many of the representatives were more than happy to be onboard.  

Several of the Minbari, including Neroon had elected to travel, at least partly one her.  Rumors and reports aside, he wanted to see the vessel himself in detail to find if the almost absurd investigative reports were indeed true.  At _B5_ he had spoken to Picard but had not visited the ship.  And he wanted to talk with human woman Rachel Garrett to personally determine what sort of person this Human female was made of.  Future relations would be determined by this time spent here.

Delenn, understanding the delicate nature unfolding on the _Ambassador_ elected to remain on her flagship where a number of the Grey Counsel secretly resided.  They would determine the exact threat separately and would lead their people accordingly.  The Drakh threat had suddenly become a trickle, with almost no reports of sightings or attacks in the last two weeks.  The only report of any significance indicated that they were leaving the area and unanimously heading in one direction. Z'ha'dum.

Their Centauri allies have been abandoned which did not bode well for them.  Before long, Minbari grievances would come knocking on their front door.  Trapped between the Minbari Federation, the Earth Alliance and the League of non-aligned Worlds, Centauri Prime would find survival a challenge.    

***

On the _Ambassador's_ bridge, General James Oliver Brindley and Neroon watched Garrett and her crew work with undisguised interests as she issued orders.  Her ship and the _Blue Nova_ were moving to within five hundred meters of one another.  The _White Star_ and the EAS _Paphos_ were repeating the same maneuver.   In the final configuration, the _Ambassador_ and _White Star Three_ would be on top while the Minbari war cruiser would remain in the rear.  Communications between all four ships were intense.  The preparation for this operation had lasted for hours as each crew went through the laborious procedure of linking their nav computers.  The _Ambassador_ and the _White Star_ calibrated their fields in order to match one another precisely.  

Captain Clark, not completely happy with the arrangement made token protests but it was either work together or stay behind.  She chose the former.  The idea of a Minbari Captain having his _Sharlin_ slaved to an Earth ship didn't please him either.  Delenn and Neroon persuaded him to reconsider his position on the matter**. **

"You two might find this interesting," Garrett said, motioning both of them to join her.  "We're about to create a warp field large enough and stable enough to encompass both ships.  We will be using tractors to help in the alignments between the ships.  Then our navigators will have to match velocities and actions exactly in order for this to work."

Commander Castillo called for the Captain's attention and she nodded sharply.  The background music changed its beat catching the General by surprise.  He'd forgotten Garrett's little quirk. Garrett had never moved but he could tell that she noticed his slight shift.  Neroon simply grimaced.  It was not to his liking, but he said nothing.  He had to respect different cultures, after all and it wasn't his place to criticize someone else's bridge.  

"Mister Mugato," she said.  "The order is given.  Engage the warp engines.  Establish the warp field and move us out." 

The _Ambassador _surged forward, the _Blue Nova_ matching the move exactly.  The other two ships matched the procedure exactly. After a few moments, Garrett was apparently satisfied.  "Count it down."

Ensign Mugato, his face a study of concentration began. And the ships began to move.   "Warp point five…point six zero." 

"Warpfield is stable and in alignment," Castillo called out.  The joined ships were moving fast now.  Everyone stared at the screen as the view screen swirled with movement faster than any Human or Minbari had ever seen.  

"The _Blue Nova_ is matched with us and overall stress is within expected tolerance projections."

Garrett sighed with relief.  The stress on her ship was significant, but it was tough and it was handling it.  And she relaxed even more as the small _White Star's_ partner kept up as well.  

"Seven point three…Seven point five…Warp point eight, Ma'am.  Holding at warp point eight, Ma'am."

_Very good._  "We've been study this for the last six months.   Let's get a tiny bit greedy.  Push it to warp one."

"Aye, Ma'am."  The helmsman touched the controls and for several heart-stopping moments, the ship ships shook, but then slowly settled.  He breathed a sigh of relief.   

"Both warpfields are stable.  The _White Star_ Three is at maximum power, but the readout is within acceptable tolerances."  Now Castillo heaved a sigh of relief. The attached warp nacelles were doing fine, even if it made the appearance of the ship ugly as sin in his eyes.  "Tough little ship," he murmured.

"Of course," Neroon said loud enough for everyone to hear.  "It's of Minbari design.  Tough, as you Humans say, is the standard."

Abruptly, the view screen changed into a bloom of dark purple light that faded quickly.  Instead of swirling red, a star field appeared, with a faint streaking going by, giving the illusion that they were stars passing by at seemingly impossible speed.  Surprised, both visitors looked at Garrett, who had already begun the explanation.

"We're still in jumpspace, Gentlemen.  The jumpspace dimension is completely different than subspace as we understood it.  The streaks we're seeing are Hawkins  radiation particles interacting with the warp field.  Between the _B5_ data and the Minbari's understanding of jumpspace, we're able to calculate where we are at any given point between hyperspace and normal space," she said wryly.  She waved her hand towards Brindley.  "The Minbari and _B5 _scientists have helped us in our understanding and together we're learning how to travel at speeds previously unknown to either race.  We've shared this knowledge with the Minbari."

Brindley's face tightened.  Behind that trained, unyielding military façade was a man who'd just discovered his greatest nightmare come true.

Garrett frowned.  She knew exactly what the man was thinking.  "Commander Castillo, you have the conn."  She pointed to Neroon and Brindley to accompany her.  "Come with me to the Captain's conference room please," Garrett ordered and the three of them moved to the privacy to of her office. "My people and I estimate in three years, once the technology is perfected, we will be able to travel the length of this galaxy in a week's time.  In a few years after that, we go extragalactic.  Like subspace, the possibilities are endless."

"The currents and eddies alone can cause a ship to become lost in a moment's notice," Brindley protested.  "It can't be done."

"Why not?" she asked.  

"Because-" he froze for an instant.   "I don't know, but we've tried.  There have been hundreds of experiments and all of them have been failures.  I'm not including other races who have tried studied different modes of faster-than-light acceleration. Jumpspace is _de facto_ standard.  But maybe in the future, who knows?"

_Interesting response_ Garrett thought.  She half expected that answer.  It gave more credence to the theory that humanity and the other races may have been programmed to block the possibility of FTL travel using other techniques besides jumpspace.  But now that they were aware of other forms, would it make any difference?

"Maybe it can be done.  In any case, we would have openly shared this technology with Earth, if only," she waved him off and glanced at the fuming military officer.

"General Brindley is right," Neroon added.  "The Minbari have had a history of space exploration longer than the Federation or the Earth Alliance.  We have found no evidence of a form of faster than light travel that is superior to hyperspace travel."  He wavered slightly.  "But here we are, traveling at speeds that have never been imagined before."

"Exactly how fast are we traveling?" Brindley asked her.  

"A little over three thousand times the speed of light," she answered, stunning both the Human and the Minbari.  She was actually rather stunned herself, but they'd never know it.  "Which I might add, is as fast as the Federation has ever been able to travel.  Theoretically, we should be able to exceed this speed significantly as we further refine our studies of the physics involved."

"But how is this possible?"

"With our present understanding of FTL physics, we know that subspace driven-warp drive and the higher dimensional hyperspace quantum reality are only partially compatible.  Subspace, hyperspace and normal space react with one another in specific ways.  We're trying to overcome the warp one barrier, which is formidable, but our people believe it can be done.  Right now, we're still learning the rules."    

"But what you're talking about could very well revolutionize space travel as we understand it," Brindley stated.  "If you present these discoveries to the aliens, you'll upset the balance of power for centuries.  Everything that you people have done since you've gotten here has negatively affected Earth in one-way, or another. We Humans will never be able to catch up with the Minbari or the others that you are teaching on _Babylon Five_."

"Right now, I don't believe your government deserves to catch up," she answered harshly.  "I'm not so sure about the Minbari, either."

"Captain?" Neroon's voice was dangerously cold.  This Human woman had just insulted him and his people!  How dare these…these children infer that the Minbari weren't mature enough to handle these new sciences! 

"Listen to what I'm saying, both of you," she said.  Her voice now carried the tone of a schoolteacher.   "On one side, we have a paranoid government attacking and killing their own people, and on the other, is a government that was willing to slaughter fourteen billion people out of revenge for the loss of a single leader.  However, there is _Babylon Five,_ a place designed to avoid these very types of conflicts that you could use to settle your differences.  But it seems that most of the time, it's trying to keep from being blown up.  And before you say anything, yes," she continued.  "The Federation hasn't done much better.  However, we had close to two hundred years of, what most people would describe, as peace.  Then we ended up having to endure twenty-two years of war with the Klingons that makes your recent conflicts look petty in comparison.  We are here in your space because of that war.  But you have a chance and a place here to do what we couldn't do," she continued.  "You can come together and become stronger as a united community than you are separately."

"We can't," Brindley answered.  "It's been years, but the feelings still linger.  Earth isn't ready for that type of change."

"And the Minbari Federation does not have the need of such a people-as him," he retorted. 

He was looking at Brindley, but Rachel understood that he meant both of them.   "Then what Delenn has done, all she has gone through and sacrificed for your people Neroon, is worth nothing to you?"

"Delenn has sacrificed more that you could possibly know for your people and mine.  Do you mock the Minbari?"  His anger covered up the chill he felt in his heart.  Did this woman know the truth?

"No," the Captain answered.  "I want to understand who and what you are and I can only do that if I ask uncomfortable questions.  We all here are mature individuals and we can talk, if we really want to, right here and right now.  Neroon of the Minbari, I know you are here to find out for yourself how dangerous we are.  To answer that question; we are more dangerous than you know.  Does that make us a threat?  Not really, because we have gone out of our way to share our cultural and technological uniqueness with your people and _B5_ to develop a sense of trust.   And your people for the most part have done the same.  We have opened the door to you.  But this isn't a two-way relationship.  For example, would we even be invited to visit your homeworld?"

"This is a time of war," he said.  That was a truth, but there was another hidden truth also.  He knew that they knew as well.  "There are humans on Minbar.   But with a vessel such as this, and the fact that you are human even if this is not a 'human' ship, would disturb the people.  At this time, I do not believe that our people would welcome you.  It would be too much."

"Even though we are not from your reality and were never part of the Minbari-Earth war?

Doesn't it matter that we are probably more of an ally to you than anything else?"

"These are uncertain times, Captain.  There are wars everywhere.  The Minbari Federation hasn't suffered such losses in a thousand years.  The people are afraid."

"You don't appear to be afraid of anything, Neroon," she answered.

"Truth is a three-edged sword," he replied.  "Only a fool is not afraid of anything.  One of my fears is what we may find at Z'ha'dum."

"At the risk of repeating myself, you have _Babylon Five_ to talk things out.  Come together so that you can stand against whatever threat that place represents, be it Shadow or something else.  I could tell you horror stories of human and Vulcan relations in the early days that would make you wonder why we didn't kill each other after the first few weeks.  Then I would tell you of Spock, born of a human female and Vulcan male."

"Impossible!  You're two different species," Brindley said.  The look of horror on his face said it all.  
  


"Not as impossible as you might want to believe," she replied.  

Neroon barely caught the gleam in her eye.  She did know!  These Federation people were aware of the greatest secret the Minbari Grey Council possessed.  For years, Sinclair's life had hung in the balance because of it.  The Minbari telepaths had created a hole in his mind to protect that secret.  

Human DNA was mixed with Minbari's.  There were Minbari souls being born on Earth.  When Neroon heard the truth of that, like many others privy to the secret, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the irony of it all.  Arrogance on one side and vengeance on the other, combined to kill nearly several billion people.  The Minbari-Earth war had come within a knife's edge of exterminating an entire people who as it turned out happened to be relatives.  It was the great secret of secrets, the great shame of shames.

"The Federation is a mixture in every since of the word," Garrett continued.  "Even Miss Torres is half human-half Klingon.  You know Dr. Troi is part Betazoid.   Several of my crewmembers are blended.  It's not a problem for us."

Brindley was appalled.  The possibility of alien-human hybrids was everything he feared.  It represented a loss of identity for the human race.   How could they, or anyone for that fact, remain unique if the genes could be mixed in that manner?  "I don't understand how your society can survive with such attitudes.  What does humanity mean if you can't tell _what_ humanity is?"

"Interesting question," Garrett said.  "Let me put it your question in another form.  If a tree falls and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

"That's the eternal debate for philosophers, Captain."

"But the reality of that question is still valid, General.  Whether we hear it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we know it or not, it doesn't matter because it doesn't care about us.  The point is we are not the end all of the universe and that tree will make a sound because sound is not dependent on whether we are there to hear it, or not.  Mankind's uniqueness will not depend on what type of genes we possess.  It will depend on what we do with what we have, for as long as we have it.  Whatever our children will be, they still will be ours."

"Will, they?" he countered.  "Or will they be so different from us that they will have no use for us whatsoever?" The Normals and Telepaths on Earth is an example of I fear.  We don't fully trust them and they don't fully trust us.  Lines are being drawn between the two."   He paused for a moment, reflecting the conversation.  "This is completely new territory for us, for me."

"A valid point," she responded.  "But if you want to find out about something and face your fears, then you open your mouth and ask.   You can raise this question with any member of my crew. And you can access the personal records of Ambassador Spock of Vulcan.  He wrote several papers on the subject.  And there are several hundred volumes both pro and con, in the database that discusses this very subject.  This is something that the Federation has wrestled with since beginning our First Contacts.  But our abiding policy is if we can attempt to achieve peaceful co-existence with our stellar neighbors, then we will take responsibility for everything that it implies.  It wasn't easy but we made it through and we can pass on what we have learned."

Nerron wasn't convinced.  "It all sounds good, Captain Garrett, but…"

"In private, Rachel, please."

Half-smiling: "Rachel.  It wasn't as easy as you have implied.   There are genetic, religious and political differences that surely must have cause difficulties?" he smirked.  "Will we find that in the database?"

"Of course," she answered instantly, "along with the fights; and details concerning a couple of bombings."  She smiled sheepishly.  "Honestly, we've had a few rough spots to get through.  But," she continued with absolute conviction.  "We learned from the experiences and as you begin to go through the same things, hopefully it will be easier because of the information we have can be used as a guide.  However, we did have an advantage.  Many of the species in our local group are humanoid based, something to do with mass seeding, we suspect.  So we don't have as much diversity that you have here.  But the more the species here interact the sooner it will come."

"Not in my lifetime," Brindley murmured so softly that he was sure that no one heard him.  

Standing next to him, Neroon stood silently, reviewing everything that had just been said.  He wasn't so sure, not with Delenn and Sheridan acting the way they were.  It seemed that the future was about to move in directions that that even he had never imagined.  "Captain Garrett is it possible that you could replicate some of that Earl Grey tea?  "It seems that I have developed a taste for it," he said as he continued looking into the void.  There was indeed a lot to think about.

Traveling at incredible speed through the void of jumpspace the quartet of starships continued on their journey.

The next stop Z'ha'dum.

*** 

**                                                            _"Interlude"_**

Another Universe:

There is a commonly held belief among many species that when two space faring races come into contact one another and both decide that it is not in their interest to remain friendly relations, two things may happen.  The first is that they will most likely separate and stay away from one another.  The second is that they will usually go to war.  If this second scenario occurs then one side is always more advanced or more powerful than the other so there is never a real contest. Of course. This theory does not take into effect the multitude of variables inherent in such a scenario.  

In other words, things do not usually work the way they are expected to.  

There is an area of space some seven thousand light-years from that which is called the planet Earth that can only be described as a mass graveyard.  It is a graveyard filled with the remains of ships of war.  Here two enemies confronted one another for the last thirty standard years.  Here lay the remains of four hundred Borg cubes, victims of an obsession.  This obsession is rooted in the obtaining of perfection-perfection in the form of children of V'ger.  These immensely powerful children have protected themselves from invasion by creating a dampening field that no one, especially not the Borg, have been able to disrupt.  No one can approach to within thirty light-years of their position utilizing any type of faster-than-light technology.   This dampening field also represents something else.  

-A warning.  

***

The Colonial Battlestar _Galactica _reached the edge of the swirling energy draining maelstrom some twenty minutes before the _Azebur _and _Voyager_ joined her.  That time was spent trying to determine the nature of the phenomenon in front of them.  All three vessels, erring on the side of caution held station at one hundred thousand kilometers from the objective.  

"Glad to see you made it, Admiral," Commander Apollo said over the comms.

"Glad to be here, Commander," Kathryn Janeway answered.  "It seems as though the Imperixe didn't want to give us up."

"I know what you mean," Commander Apollo answered.  "I trust you explained it to them?"  There was no love lost between those parasites and the Colonials.  The two battles between them established a bitterness that wouldn't soon go away 

She shook her head in dismay.  "I don't believe they listen too well.  But they weren't very enthusiastic about following us.  It must have something to do with this region of space," she added dryly.  

"I can understand why.  We have some prelims.  Can you confirm our readings?"

***

"Admiral, please take a look at these readings," Annika Chakotay said.  Coming from the former Borg, it sounded like more of an order than a request, but everyone was used to that by now.  The flat vocal tone was a part of her personality now, and that would never change.

The region of space shimmered with intense energy.  Preliminary sensor scans from all three ships came back inconclusive.  Intensive scans were now being performed.

To the naked eye, the barrier shimmered, pulsating like a living thing.  Hundreds of colors flowed within the barrier like rivers of water, something that had increased since the ships had taken up station-keeping.  

"Have you ever seen anything like this?"

"Yes," Annika answered.  "The twelfth power energy signature is indicative of V'ger's activity in the sector.  The Borg have attempted to gain access through the barrier for decades now, without success.   The barrier rejects all energy waves, including sensor sweeps."

"Yet, we are scanning it," Tuvok stated with his usual Vulcan calm.

"Yes," the ex-Borg, Seven of nine responded in a somewhat irritated manner.  "We are.  I believe it is because the children are allowing us to."

"That's what I thought also," Janeway said.  "They're curious about us."  And this was exactly what she was counting on.  Their curiosity would allow them to hesitate enough so that first contact could be possible.

"Is there anything on the detailed scans?"

"The details are coming in now," Commander Data said.  

As she forced herself to be patient the Admiral waited and watched Commander Data carefully.  For the life of her Janeway thought the android was doing a perfect imitation of a person deep in thought.  

Data finished his analysis; he turned to give his full attention to the Admiral and the Captain.  "This area of space is in a state of trans-dimensional flux," she said.  "It is being constantly reconfigured with no discernible pattern and as a result subspace travel has been rendered impossible by any means we are currently aware of.  Slipstream and transwarp have been rendered inoperative."  

This was expected also.  Q had told her about the barrier and its effects.   "Are we safe from its effects at this distance?"

"At present we are one hundred thousand kilometers from the event horizon.  At this distance, the barrier should not present a problem to our ships."

"Let's not press our luck," Chakotay said thoughtfully.  "I want two class seven probes launched.  Have them intersect the barrier."

Commander Tuvok the two class seven probes and the telemetry received was exhaustive-right until both probes slammed into the barrier and ceased to exist.

"What happened?" Chakotay demanded.

"Both probes were destroyed five hundred meters short of the event horizon," Tuvok answered.  "Fascinating.  The results received before the probes were destroyed confirms that this barrier is of subspace origin and exists in several dimensions.  It is an energy absorber, quite effective in neutralizing energy weapons discharges and resisting solid objects that come into contact with it."

Well, that was obvious.

"But we're scanning it now."

"Maybe it's more than curiosity working here.   Maybe it is an invitation," Janeway said as she though about the implications.  Open a channel and configure it using the same parameters used by the original _Enterprise_ to communicate with V'ger."

"Aye, Ma'am."

"What do you think, Captain?"

"It certainly is possible."

"It's ready, Admiral."

"Good.  This is Admiral Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship USS _Voyager_.  We mean you no harm and will to communicate with you.  Please respond."

Nothing.

"V'ger, we are from you planet or origin.  We wish…"

The woman was cut off.  The ship was suddenly enveloped with bright, withering light accompanied with a mind-numbing sound so loud that it threatened their sanity.  The light penetrated everything. As it cohesed into a laser-bright pillar of light it circled the bridge.

"It's a probe!" someone yelled trying to be heard over the din.   The probe touched everything and everyone finally centering on one person.

"Annika!" her husband screamed as the probe intensified its scan of her.  

She was paralyzed by the power of the probe analyzing her.  Then the probe vanished as suddenly as it appeared leaving the woman on the floor in a complete daze.  Outside the barrier was changing, colors flashed and ran into one another.  There was a swirling vortex forming within the barrier and that swirl slowly increased in size.

Everyone heard a voice, powerful enough to shake _Voyager._  It was like the sound of an old man voice mixed with that of a young teenager.  The sound contained within it an ancient wisdom mixed with unabridged hostility and contempt.  

**_"BORG!"_**

"V'ger wait!  Tuvok, send the code."  

"Communications have been cut, Admiral."

*** 

All three ships rumbled as gravity generated from the swirling apex began pulling them forward.

"Emergency reverse," Chakotay yelled. "Tom get us away from here!"

Lieutenant Paris was already complying before he spoke.  "Sir, something is preventing us from moving. We can't create a warpfield."

_Voyager_ rumbled once more as the warp engines strained to break the grip of whatever was holding them.  Nearby the _Galactica's_ main engines were powering up as it struggled to break free of the same force that held _Voyager_ and _Azebur_ in its grip.

"It's no good.  We're being pulled towards it. Everyone brace for impact!"  Janeway yelled.

***

All three ships collided with the center of swirling matrix-and continued to travel deeper and deeper into the phenomenon.  

"It's like a wormhole," Paris yelled.  In the view screen was an image of physics gone mad.  To him it looked like a quantum slipstream passage mixed with colored lights and a rippling effect that made the whole thing surreal.  

The ships moved faster now and the inertial compensators barely kept up with the ever increasing strain.  It felt as if they were being slowly stretched to death as subspace distortions ravaged the vessels and the crews inside. 

"The structural integrity field is losing power," Tuvok said.  The words came out slowly as if time were being stretched as well.  "The strain is too great!"

"Reroute all available power to the shields!" 

"It's not enough," Tuvok announced.  "We will lose shields in…"

The terrifying journey abruptly ceased as quickly as it had begun.  The relief was palpable.  

"All stop."

"Aye Sir.  Answering all stop."

"Shields are firming up," said Worf who somehow still maintained a standing position at tactical.  "Systems are coming back online."

"Confirmed."  

"What's the status of the ship?"  Chakotay asked.

"Ship's status seems to be okay.  No reports of serious injuries."

"How's Annika?"  

Dazed from the experience she attempted to get up even while her husband tried in vain to keep here from doing so.  "Shaken, but I will recover."

"Medical to the bridge," Chakotay ordered.

***

"That could have gone better," Paris mumbled.  He was embarrassed having lost his lunch.  Fortunately he wasn't alone as the smell attested to. "I guess that his equivalent of saying 'go away'."

"Mr. Data, where are we?"

"We are located near the southern edge of the Gamma quadrant, sixty-five thousand, four hundred and six point three two light years from our previous position."

Chakotay shook his head and nearly started laughing. As for Tuvok, he actually shrugged.   Paris was smiling hysterically and even Seven allowed herself a slight grin.  As for her part, Kathryn felt a headache coming on.  If the situation hadn't been so grim, she too would have found herself caught up in the moment.   The other _Voyager _crewmembers looked at the group, confused.

"You had to be there for seven years, "Paris managed to choke out.  "Oh, Harry," he said.  "I wish you were here.  You would be having a fit right now."

B'Elanna was on the comms, trying to find out just what had happened.  

"Details later, Chief.  Yellow alert!  Shields on standby."

Janeway agreed completely. She knew exactly where they were; the worst place they could ever be in.  Even the Borg avoided this area of space.  The only good part of this entire journey was that there were several subspace conduits, created by V'ger that would allow them safe passage to their space.  The problem was getting passed the local neighbors. 

***

Nearby Q, Amanda of Q, John, Trelane, affectionately known as 'That Brat', and young Q watched the journey with interest.  

"They finally made it," young Q said.  "But do you think they will be in time?"

"Yes," John said.  "But the question you should be asking is whether Janeway will do what she's supposed to.  Her interpretation of the Prime Directive may hinder this mission.  This temporal war may cause a galaxy to fall and she is in the position to stop it.  Iblis has made his move and the seeds of doubt are being planted."  

Q shook his head.  "The Vorlons were so full of themselves.  'We want to touch the face of God and in doing so become gods ourselves?'" Q mimicked.  "If they wanted to know about God they should have asked me..."

Amanda groaned while Trelane delighted in the sarcastic displayed by Q.  "Well at least you found someone who's made more mistakes than the Q, Q, and that's saying a lot."

Q wasn't listening.  "She's going to have to make some choices that will haunt her forever.  I hope she's up to it. We'll find out soon enough."

***

End Interlude

 **Chapter 18:  The Battle for Narn**


	20. Celebrations Among the Revelations

**_NOTES:_**_  In the story 'The Conversation' which as just come out as an independent addition to the 'Universe' and 'Ruination War' series I said I would address the questions and comments here.  So, okay folks.  Relax get coffee or (like myself, hot chocolate) and get ready to read.  _

_First, I will not chronicle the Farscape-ST:TNG crossover I have mentioned several times.  That was only for the general advancement of  the temporal plot and I have not thought much about it at all.  The reason for this is because I am in the process of completing the two current stories and preparing for the 'Of Gods and Emissaries' story coming up in 2005.  That is a B5-Stargate (not SG-1 even though a few elements will be in there-what I am not saying now) story resulting from the ramifications of the 'Universe' series.  If however anyone does want to tackle the story one their own, Ill be more than happy to supply information and details on a basic plot._

The USS Enterprise C and D were sent to B5 SPECIFICALLY AT THAT TIME AND PLACE by Quinn in order to increase the Fed's chances of survival with potential friend in the B5 universe.  More details later as both stories progress and join together.

_***_

_Now, the ancients pose a problem for me because every universe has their own group of ancients to deal with.  If I remember correctly the ancients in the SG-1 universe are precursors of humans.  The ancients of Farscape are aliens as are the B5 and ST ones.  I propose not to mix or join them in any fashion or form if I can help it because I would crack under the strain._

_As you know this is mainly a ST story located in the B5 universe and because of that, the point of view mainly revolves around the Fed's perception of what's going on.  This was a good thing.  _

_But I made a mistake.  _

_I mentioned that in 'Ruinations' the ST universe there originally hailed from a SG-1 version and because of a temporal retaliation, the ST universe was created instead.  That little comment has become an unintentional headache for these stories.   Realizing the fullness of the trap I set for myself (like two weeks ago) I attempted to correct it.  In 'The Conversation' you will notice that I mentioned quantum strata.  I will now try to explain this a little more right now.  _

_***_

_  In reality I have no clue as to how the quantum structure of the universe is organized, but in my writings I do propose this:  There are 'groupings' of universes joined by a commonality, a similarity if you will, in which things happen in recurring patterns.  The ST universe is unique and for the most part isolated from, let's say the B5 universe.  Within the ST universe there are quantum variations-clusters (or strata) of different dimensions in which different paths have been taken, hence there are so many stories written by so many authors involving the same characters acting in unique ways._

_Now, there are crossovers in which elements from one universe may interact with other universes, but for the most part they remain separate entities.  But are exceptions to the rule of quantum strata variations.  In the case of 'Ruination' (or 'Evolutions'-same thing), an anomaly occurred. Instead of a normal characteristic ST pattern forming, a SG variation was generated.  With the interference of time, the past was reset and what happened is that the SG dimensional anomaly reverted to a standard ST universal variant like all of its relatives in the quantum universal strata it originated from._

**_I am saying that these alternative universes are NOT from a single original timeline_**_ (gotta clear that up), but was a grouping of them existing size by side, originally clustered together, which then spread out to their own unique agendas and variations.  All containing similarities with one another but at the same time unique  unto themselves.  Again I am stressing that the Stargate quantum universe and its variants are not the prime baseline and it  is not the baseline for everything here.  It is unique and on its own.   I'm sure that this is now all cleared up (LOL)._

            _The Goa'uld in my upcoming story will be radically different from anything represented in SG-1.  I will follow the SG movie format and I hope you'll enjoy it.  No Jack, no Carter, no Daniel, no SGC-as you know them.  The quantum universe of B5 is different and although the stargate exists, it-is-not-the-same.  Kinsey ended up President, for about a week in this timeline before someone blew him to bits with a missile-and no it wasn't Jack.  The history will be presented in the next story by the survivors  of the B5 verse._

_            -Also no Andromeda, anywhere.  I cannot that show seriously, especially when I consider that the theme song of Duck Dodgers is better than most of Andromeda's completed episodes._

_*** _

_            One of the points brought up was the fact that just about every advanced civilization screws up and kills themselves and everyone else off.  The T'kon empire was lost-which is ST canon-seemingly joining so many other advanced races in oblivion. _

_            In forbidden Planet, something similar happened. This repeating pattern that Neoseether has observed does seem to be the norm.  The question is why?  I shall propose this answer.  Human history reeks of cultures that start, grow, live, and die.  The dinosaurs had their heyday and are now for the most part gone. Stars are born, they live and die. And the History channel seems to back this pattern in human development again and again, quite strongle.  My belief is that most writers write this because we, in our hearts, believe this pattern to be close to law.   So it reflects our subconscious beliefs that nothing is permanent.    _

_Getting back to the T'kon. _

_Security among the T'kon was compromised. Logically, one supernova would not have destroyed a star-spanning culture like the T'kon who would have (1) recognized the threat of a natural occurring explosion in their territory, and (2) would not have been seriously affected by one supernova without having a contingency plan with energy that travels less than the speed of light (subspace energy not withstanding).  There had to be something else happening.  I and one other have suggested that a cluster of stars caused the disaster and that it was sabotage.  Not by the Ciona Imperixe but by someone else.  The Ciona were affected as well and much of their territories were destroyed and they were essence pushed back and had to star over re-acquiring territory that was lost.   _

_***      _

_As for the different ship designs that I have mentioned in all of the stories…I have not as of yet seriously thought out in detail as to what the different ships look like.  For example, I envision the Viper IIIs as a forward swept-winged tri-engine fighter along the designs of the original version.  These are missile-carrying fighters that carry the missiles inside as opposed to underneath the carriage.  The Cobras are three times the size and are imagined along the lines of the f-18 and f-14 twin-finned American aircraft.  But this is as far as I have gotten because I don't have that artistic flair to put into art what I can see within my mind.  That will have to go to someone else who has that ability to do.  So if you have any ideas who might have 'the gift' let me know and we shall see what we shall see.  However I 'do' have a design for the USS Colin Powell conceptualized by Major Diarrhia.  The zero point warp core and dual engine design is his and he graciously allowed me to use it. _

_Hey, Ma: I am glad I made you think.  That's what we writers intend for our readers.  We need those eyeballs and brains working, even if they don't want to.   And now that I have confused everyone even more…on with the story._

_    Chapter 18_

**_Celebrations Among the Revelations_**

****

****

**The homeworld of Narn:**

Before the start of the Great War, there had been many who believed that the Centauri had degenerated into a mockery of their former selves.  Their species had been in space for nearly a thousand years, almost as long as the Minbari.  Only the Minbari and the Vorlons commanded more power.  But during that time something had happened to the Centauri.  They became complacent, and morally and spiritually corrupted.  Now, most conversations revolved around memories of the 'good old days', when they were a race to be respected and feared among all the others.  A person unaware of the history would call them weak, and unimportant in the scheme of things.  But that would merely show their ignorance.

The culture and attitudes of the Centauri people could be roughly compared to the Roman Empire during the time of the Augustan Caesars.  But that that is where the comparisons ended.  While mankind was still concerned with wind driven sails to move across the oceans, the Centauri were moving across their solar system.  They were aware of other species in the universe and with jumpgate technology they explored their local groups, to the chagrins of the Narn and the Drazi.  The Narns, being essentially technological primitives, were quickly defeated and enslaved, while the more advanced Drazi were kept hemmed in by the Centauri.  The Republic quickly supplanted and took over their trading routes becoming rich and influential in the process.  

But as time passed, the Emperors of old, weakened by strife and internal conflicts, allowed the empire to fall into disrepair.  They lost control of Narn and loosened the strangle hold on the Drazi trading routes  The people became desponded and unfocused.  Many of the smaller powers began to spread their own wings and their influence increased, while the once powerful Centauri Empire's decreased.  Emperor Cartagia's mad plans, fueled by the whispers of Shadows, began a new reign of terror.  Earth colonies were attack, widening the war.   However, there were no more Shadows to give him strength; no more Drakh to help him, and he began to withdraw his forces unto himself.  But he chose not to abandon Narn.  It was his and no one would take it away.

A dozen Centauri _Primus_ and _Vorchan_ battlecruisers orbited the wasted ruin that the Narn homeworld.  That they had won a victory over their ancient adversaries wasn't in doubt.  What was now in doubt was if they could keep their hard-won possession.  The Narn Regime had put up a pretty good fight but in the end, they really had no chance at all.  The Narn technology, that which was stolen from the Centauri, was outdated and inferior to what was possessed by the Centauri.  Out of twelve major engagements, the Centauri war machine had decisively won nine of them.  Most of the Narn military ships were now crippled or destroyed, their people demoralized and brutalized (for the second time), and their planet ravaged by the illegal use of mass accelerator-class weapons.  The cities were all but destroyed; its population at the edge of starvation since precious farmland had also been targeted and ruined.  And mass slavery had begun to raise its ugly head.  There were many Centauri who jumped at the idea of having their personal Narn servants do their bidding.   No one had intentions of giving that most exclusive of privileges up.  In orbit, the first of two space stations were being built by Narn slave labor to make sure that no one would keep the Centauri from once more exercising their rightful control of the planet.  It was the beginning of a whole new area.

***

The Command staff of the holding force was terrified.  Their Emperor had left them alone, light-years away from any support, with standing orders to hold until relieved.  General Madero quietly cursed his leader for a fool for trusting the Drakh.  The Shadows were a different story.  They kept their promises but no one had heard from them for months now, and that frightened him as much as it did Cartagia.  The war that secured Narn so quickly had been possible because of Shadow help, but now they were nowhere to be found.  Earth Force was spreading like a plague, taking advantage of the lull in the fighting, securing their bases and upgrading their system, preparing to strike.  And of course, he couldn't forget about the Minbari.  His leader had made too many enemies, too quickly.      

Aggravated by his fears, he turned to his subordinate.  "Increase the number of guard ships and put us on secured alert."

Perplexed, the captain followed orders.  Several addition squads of Centauri fighters eased out of their berths to take their place on guard duty.  Silently, the Captain waited for an explanation he knew would be coming.  He didn't have to wait long.

"Captain Litanna, " he said quietly.  "There are a few of our people who can foresee their own deaths.  It comes to them in dreams, over and over again.  It's been well documented."

"Yes, sir," the Captain responded.  "It is rumored that certain families had the gift, or curse, depending on how one looks at it."

Madero's smile was wintry.  "It's no rumor. I have foreseen my death many times.  I've seen it so much that it has become somewhat of an old friend.  But then, the dreams I've had for years stopped.   They became something else.  At first, I couldn't understand why.  But when I heard about the Federation ships, I understood.  Their presence had caused the universe to change.  The time of my death was changed and I feel my death drawing near."

"When?" Litanna asked.  He didn't know what else to say.

"When?" he echoed.  "I don't know.  But how?"  He shrugged.  "That I do know.  It will be in fire."

***

Onboard the Narn heavy cruiser _Prazhi,_ G'Kar anxiously paced back and forth, waiting for the signal to attack and liberate his world.  There were sixteen ships in his little armada-mostly smaller cruisers and a few gunships-that wouldn't normally be a match for the Centauri war machine orbiting the planet.  But that had, as the humans said, an ace in the hole.  That 'ace' was now tearing its way across subspace at warp four…

The Narn could contain himself no longer.  "It is time," he announced.

To the Captain, it might as well have been the loudest of shouts.  "Jump!" he yelled to the Navigator.  

The entire fleet flashed into normal space approximately 5 A.U.s  from the homeworld.  The Centauri _Sentrii_ fighters immediately attacked and were met with unexpectedly fierce resistance from their Narn counterparts.   The first _Primus_ warship was turning to engage when it simply blew up, and its brother immediately followed, becoming a massive fireball.  Two photon torpedoes, traveling at nearly warp six –therefore completely undetectable by Centauri sensors- had blow both ships into random particles. 

The_ K'mpec's Honor _decloaked after decelerating violently into normal space, just behind a _Vorchan _warship and began pounding the unsuspecting ship with its pulse disruptors.  Unable to defend itself or flee it dissolved into its component parts in a spectacular explosion just as the Klingon ship cloaked once more.  Panicked by the sudden violent assault and the presence of their ancient foe, the other Centauri ships quickly broke orbit and headed quickly for the enemy they could see who were headed their way.  The occupying force couldn't afford to remain in orbit hampered by gravity with a ship of mad people appearing and disappearing at will.  They needed room to maneuver.  

The Narn fired their weapons with an accuracy and range that defied description and began punching holes into Centauri armor that had previously withstood such attacks with relative impunity.  They returned fire but did little damage, as their first long-ranged weapons seemed to bounce off their enemy's hulls.  

The Klingon vessel decloaked, but didn't attack a trio of _Vorchans _scrambling to get away.  This was a Narn battle and for now, they were content to watch for a little while, at least.

  ***

Frantically, Malero bellowed orders to his squadron to retreat into hyperspace.   His ships were being slaughtered to a man by the Narn and he understood the reason why.  He correctly guessed that these ships had been augmented with alien Klingon technology.  They had some type of shield protection and beam weapons took too long to burn through before they could return fire.  He had to save his people before it was too late. The accursed Klingon vessel wasn't following but at the speed it was capable of, it didn't have to.  In normal space the Bird-of-prey could run them down in a second.  

Captain Litanna's cardiovascular system skipped a pulse when the large Narn cruiser began tracking them.   "Surrender and you will be allowed to live," a voice over the comms said haughtily.  The Vid image made him curse aloud.  It was G'Kar!   The contempt and arrogance in the Narn's voice caused him to veer away from the jump point.  This was a matter of honor.

"To all ship's weapons, track and destroy that cruiser!"   A moment later, weapons fire from his ship pour out and headed towards the hated Narn enemy ship.  

Madero panicked.  He had seen this before.  The Change.  The time was almost here!  "Cease fire!" he screamed.  "Divert all power to the jump engines.  We must…"

His voice caught in his throat when he saw four fast moving projectiles headed towards his ship.  Three of those energy mines veered off to hit two more of his vessels, but the fourth continued to move toward him at a most unnatural speed only to be intercepted by a _Sentrii_ trying, ironically, to avoid a missile fired from a Narn fighter.  The missile detonated less that a kilometer away from the bridge, with an explosion equivalent to a directed twenty megaton blast.  The _Primus_ began to melt.

Madero thought that he heard someone screaming something about burning, but he was to busy shrieking in unimagined agony to really care.  Merciful, eternal blackness overtook him a second later.

Four heavily damaged Centauri ships managed to retreat in the safety of hyperspace.  That only left sixty thousand Centauri males and females trapped on a planet full of vengeful Narn.

-All alone in the night.

***

_"This is an ISN new special:  Narn Under Siege:  I'm Terry Lynde."_

_"And I'm Robyn Kelley here at ISN news.  We bring you an exclusive report on continuing developments that have occurred in the last two days on the homeworld of Narn, where we have been told, the fighting is dying down and the planet has been ripped free from the grip of the Centauri.  Several reliable sources have confirmed that a small squadron of Narn vessels, led by former Ambassador G'Kar of the Narn Regime, surprised and defeated a larger Centauri force in orbit and wrestled control from the occupying army on the planet's surface.  There were reports of large numbers of civilians being killed during the final hours of fighting.  However the surviving Centauri forces have either surrendered or have been killed.   Terry?"_

_"The actual events that led to the home world being taken back remains sketchy at this time, but what is known is that the Centauri had only a relatively small occupying force orbiting the planet.  Military officials attribute this to a change in Centauri tactics in the last few weeks from an offensive campaign to one of defense.  With the apparent defection of their allies known only as the Drakh, the Centauri have become more cautious and have moved forces closer to their own territories.  Several EAS battle groups have attempted to engage them, but the Centauri simply returned to hyperspace thus avoiding any fight.  Experts are at a loss to explain these actions but others are overjoyed at the prospects that the war may be nearing an end not with a bang but with a whimper.  Some others however, are not so optimistic.  Almost everyone agrees that with the lull in the fighting EarthForce has the opportunity to upgrade their weapon's platforms such as the Moonsoon class Raneko series gunboat that served with distinction in the Battle of Proxima III.  These new ships have upgraded offensive and defensive weaponry that will revolutionize the way EarthForce will be able to wage conflicts in the future.  They are purportedly to have artificial gravity and a much heavier particle weapons system.  Lieutenant Commander Gerald Higgins is credited for several the design implementations, which exploited to their logical conclusions, should give EarthForce a significant advantage against others who would try to subvert the integrity of Earth.   Reportedly, there will be several new types of capital ships with their own artificial gravity being developed and will be online with the next couple of months."_

_"President Clark has offered his congratulations and best wishes to the people of Narn in the resistance against alien influences that nearly destroyed their world.  And in the spirit of cooperation and unification, he has offered amnesty to any of our own renegade forces who wish to return to EarthForce.  This amnesty will be administered by the Ministry of Peace, who is preparing even now for the thousands of EarthForce personnel who want to return home.  He is also asking that John Sheridan and his officers consider their position and rejoin their fellow brothers and sister in once again reuniting our world.  Babylon Five is Earth property he reiterated.  'The past is the past' the President said, 'and we should not let it be a permanent rift separating loved ones from one another'."_

_"Our legal staff has stated that Sheridan and his crew would have to face charges of insurrection concerning the theft of B5, but in light of the services rendered on behalf of EarthForce, Clark is willing to proceed with the lesser charges of conduct unbecoming an officer…."_

***

"Stick it in his ear," Sheridan murmured as he turned to Michael.  "Can you believe that?"

The Chief of Security simply shook his head at the absurdity of it all.  "They're acting like the war is over.  They're already planning to fight the next battle…us.  But he's wrong."

"You're darn right," John agreed.  "The Centauri aren't finished, not by a long shot.  And I know Earth Force is aware of that fact also.  'The past is the past'", mimicked John.  "Doesn't Clark understand that the Centauri have more ships and arms than we do, no matter how many ships we have in development?  If they attack us now in force, I don't know if we would survive."

"Well don't look now," Garibaldi said.  "But I don't think that this amnesty business is going to fly.  More and more crews of EarthForce are defecting and now that I think of it that may be the reason why Clark's offering this in the first place.  The stick hasn't worked as well as he's hoped and now-"

"He's offering the carrot," Sheridan finished.   "I don't know.  He's getting desperate and he's being backed into a corner.  If this war ends too soon he may not be able to keep the support he's gathered since the war."  

"However, we have to acknowledge that he may be gathering his forces right now.  That announcement about the _Monsoons_ is probably just the tip of the iceberg.  Remember those Shadow hybrids at Proxima III? There was no way he would have let that cat out of the bag unless he was desperate.  Only two of them survived that battle, but you saw the recordings as well as I did.  They could have mopped up the floor with EarthForce regulars.  And we got the scans from the _Enterprise_.  Those _Monsoons_ have Klingon technology.  The pulse disruptors, and the scanners are definitely based on Klingon technology.  But the polarized plating came from us."

"We thought he was dead," John grimaced.  "Higgins gave his _Thunderbolt_ to EarthGov and they copied the prototype as fast as they did Shadow technology.  I thought we had a nice lead but now it's becoming a real race.  Our _T-2s_ are ready and the pilots have got a pretty good handle on them.  Most the resistance ships have several of them onboard now.  And we're making them as fast as we can."  He paced a little, looking out the window at the newest version of the _Tunderbolt_ Starfury. Susan was out there, casually performing maneuvers that would rip apart normal Starfuries "Have you tried the T-3 yet?"

"No, but I want to," he confessed.  "I haven't had the time.  But I see Susan has some flying time in Gamma four.   After her first run  we talked.  She was ecstatic.  During the simulations, she went up against ten regular fighters and took them all out without breaking a sweat.  The T-2s gave the test pilots a little more of a challenge. The Gamma actually outran standard weapons fire and the hits she took bounced off her deflectors like water off a roof.  She made it up to one half-light speed before slowing it down while she orbited Epsilon.   She'll be finished with this run in about an hour. She and two others are doing high speed maneuvers to see how they handle in high stress simulations."  Garibaldi gave him the_ eye_.  "Needless to say, when they saw our little test, the comm traffic on EarthForce around here almost burned itself out."

"Good."  _Let them worry about it. _ "As long as they believe that we have an extra ace or two up our sleeves they'll think twice about doing something.  And that Michael will give us time to find out what's going on at Dum."

"Well, the Minbari are preparing to pay Cartagia a visit unless I miss my guess.  But," he added, "not before we find out about Z'ha'dum.  Even if half of what's in Londo's diary is true, we may be in the biggest fight of our lives, not just for us, but for everybody."

"And speaking of fights, I have to meet with General Leftcourt and Christov.  It seems that they want to speak with Captain Adams."

"Here we go again," Michael said.  "Why does this always have to happen to us?"

"Because we're here?" John responded.  He shook his head in resignation.  "I was a student of Leftcourt's when I was in the academy.  He's old school and I believe that's why he's been chosen to lead this delegation."  He touched his forehead.  "Psychological warfare.  Maybe I should ask Kosh to have Jack visit Clark for a little talk."  There was a trace of humor in his voice, but not much.   The Inquisitor was a homicidal maniac in every sense of the term.  The man known as 'Jack the ripper' was so very good at his job, which is why the Vorlons took him in the first place.

"Good luck."

***

Captain John Adams was the last to take his seat.  He didn't seem worried but he was a little anxious.  

Captain Sheridan made the introductions.

"Let me start off by saying, Captain, that I'm sorry that you've gotten caught up in this mess," Leftcourt began.  He was a tall gray-haired man in his early fifties, distinguished looking and absolutely loyal to EarthGov no matter what the situation was back home.  "As an EarthForce representative, I want to apologize.  _Babylon Five_ isn't the place for you.  It is dangerous and they don't have the resources to help you return home whereas Earth does.  President Clark is offering all of the resources that we have to assist you in returning to your place of origin.  In exchange we would like to have access to your technological specs of your hyperdrive system, weapons and your robot which I must confess is quite impressive."

"As the representative of the United Planet Confederation, I accept your apology and we are sorry to be such a cause for consternation among your people.  However, I am not sure if it's in our best interest at this time to go to Earth.  To be frank I haven't liked what I've seen on ISN broadcasts.  I understand that there problems there, but from what little I've seen your Earth looks more like a Nazi state than anything else. In case you don't understand, the Nazis of my Earth-"

"We know what Nazis are, Captain," Christov fumed.  "I resent that implication."  

"Then you understand my point," Adams replied testily.  "Personally I would prefer not to be here at all, but right now I don't seem to have a choice.  I have a responsibility to my crew to do what's best for them.  And your Earth is not what's best for them right now."

"But, Captain Adams," General Leftcourt said.  "Consider this.  _Babylon Five_ is Earth property and eventually it will be returned to its rightful owner.  When that time comes and if you're still here, where will that leave you?"  

Both eyebrows rose in consternation.  "I believe that that's a threat, General."

"Not at all, Captain," Leftcourt quickly corrected.  "I'm just trying to open the lines of communication, here.  Despite our present differences with Captain Sheridan and the others we are not true threat you think we are.  Earth is still Earth.  We should be able to foram a basis for mutual cooperation.  We have things that can help your crew and in turn you have things that are of interest to us.  For example, your hyperdrive system."

The Captain looked confused.  "Your hyperspace technology is better than ours, more efficient, and faster.  Why would you be interested in an inferior drive system?"

"We're interested in all types of technology," Christov answered.  "Your drive technology has great potential for future applications and would allow us to explore an entirely new type of science.  And your energy production far exceeds ours.  The power source you use to power your ship is more efficient than anything we currently have. And we would like to examine your weapons systems and robot in detail."

"Maybe in the future," Adams suggested.  "But as for right now, I don't think so.  There has to be an element of trust between myself and you .  That hasn't been established us yet."

"Allowing us to examine it would be a huge step for that establishment of trust," Christov reiterated.  "If this is done now, there won't be problems in the future," "Don't let Sheridan's disinformation cause you to make a mistake that you'll regret in the future.  President Clark is offering you amnesty.  You would be wise to take it instead of staying here trying to survive on this tin can."

"Amnesty?  Amnesty for what?" the UPC Captain asked Christov.  He wasn't happy about the threats and he was even less happy at his options.  "I'll think about it and let you know," Adam said effectively ending these preliminary talks.  Listening to this dribble coming from the EarthForce people, he realized that _Babylon Five's_ and the Federation offer to stay here was appealing to him more and more.  He was beginning to understand why Sheridan broke away. It was something to think about.  But now, to his relief, the Earth reps turned their concentration towards Sheridan.  

"That was quite a show you put there, Captain," Leftcourt said.  "How fast?"

Sheridan smiled proudly.  He knew exactly what the General was talking about.  "Cruising zero point five light speed.  One half light-speed, so far, for an hour at full burn, without temporal distortion."  

By the way Sheridan smiled, Adams believed that the man was very likely a very good poker player.

However Christov fumed.  He was an open book.   "No doubt more technology from your Federation friends," he said.  There was a history between the two, obviously bad.  "And what is the price all of these little gifts going to cost in the end?" he asked.  "Despite their claims of being from another universe, EarthForce's data indicates otherwise.  We know you have information on the _Monsoons_.  Yes," he confirmed.  "It comes from technology brought to us by Lieutenant Commander Higgins, a loyal officer who was frightened by things going on here on _B5_.  His Star Fury was a revelation and we have put it to good use.   But that's not the only thing, Sheridan.  They've been lying to you.  They're not from some alternate reality.  I'm surprised that you believe that crap.  I thought better of you."

"John," Leftcourt continued. "For months now, we have been back-tracking their origins and we have discovered quite a few things, including the remains of a destroyed alien derelict confirmed to be of Klingon origin.  If only three vessels came through as we've been told, why is it that we found addition evidence that these people come from somewhere in our galaxy?  EarthForce suspects that this may be an advance scouting party, testing us and our resolve.  For heaven's sake, look at their timing!  They came exactly when you needed them the most."

"Why would they make up such a preposterous lie?"  John asked.  Adams was watching the dynamics between the Loyalists and Resistance closely for any insight that would help him in his own personal decisions.  "They're smart enough to lie a lot better than that if they wanted to."

_'Amazing', _Adam's thought while listening to these people.  '_They accept my story, but not Picard's'._

"Maybe," Christov conceded.  "However we believe that when they come, every race will be under attack not just us.  For all we know, Picard, Garrett and the Klingons are working together, waiting for the moment to call in re-enforcements when we are at our divided and at our weakest.   Two so-called enemies simply don't come together as easily as they did.  The technology they've given is still inferior to what they could bring to bare on us all.  President Clark believes that Picard, with those alien Klingons, by his actions, started the war between Centauri and Earth.  They would not have attacked us if those ships weren't here in the first place.  You should be helping us to re-unite and deal with this oncoming threat to our sector of space rather than creating your own little empire out here."

"Think about what you're doing, John.   You're romantically involved with an alien!  And your wife is still alive!  You've split EarthForce down the middle with this little coupe of yours.  No one knows the whole truth about what's happening on Earth because everybody's tuning into your little propaganda channel, which we can't jam, by the way.   Your actions have polarized us down the middle.  Like Lincoln in the American civil war between the states, Clark will have no choice but to put you down to preserve the Union."

"So, you're saying that I am Jefferson Davis to Clark's Lincoln?"  The man laughed for a moment at the comparison.  "I am the one to blame for splitting Earth down the middle?"

John's whole demeanor changed.  "General, Mr. Christov.  I believe your comparison is wrong on several points.  President Lincoln didn't have his predecessor assassinated and then turn the United States into a police state to cover his butt.  You want unification, but only on your terms.  And those terms ignore the constitution, which we are sworn to uphold.  The people of Earth have lost those freedoms guaranteed by that constitution.  You have bombed innocent civilians whom we have sworn to protect and you ask me to rejoin something that isn't constitutionally legal or morally accountable to that constitution.  No. I can't, in good conscience, do that and retain my soul by looking the other way when those laws are trampled and people are being killed by President Clark's regime.  Now, you're negotiating with as though this war is almost over.  Well, I have important news for you.  It is not.  What's coming may make this fight with the Centauri seem like a practice bout."

"So it's true," Leftcourt said, misunderstanding what Sheridan had said. And his anger began to build.  "They _are_ coming.   It-is-inconceivable Sheridan, that you hadn't told us of the Federation threat.  We needed the time to…"

"It's not the Federation, General," Sheridan responded harshly.  "I asked for General Brindley for a specific reason.  Frankly, we don't like or trust each other and it is that very reason why he is accompanying the other ambassadors to determine what may be the greatest threat this galaxy has ever seen.  They will find out in the next twenty-four hours whether that rumor is true of false."

That caught John Adam's attention like nothing else had.  The ongoing intrigues in this place made the Id monster seem tame in comparison.  

***

                                                            _ ****_

****

Londo felt as though he had puked every last organ he still possessed within his body.  Radiation poisoning was a horrible thing and he wished that no one would have to go through what he and the others had in the last few weeks.   By rights, he should have been dead and from what he had been told by Stephen he nearly was a couple of times.  But he had survived by the miracle advances of _B5_ and Starfleet medicals working together.  Evidently certain medicines found B5 for the treatment of radiation poisoning were superior to the Federation's.  Once that was discovered, both Stephen and the lovely Dr. Crusher had done research; research, which created a revolutionary new serum that effectively, countered the effects of radiation even in severe cases like his.  It would take time for him to recover but he would be okay after completing the treatments scheduled for the next two years.  Others in his ill-fated shuttle were recovering likewise and the wonderful thing was that it was being given away for free-to their enemies! They could make a fortune with this drug!

_Babylon Five_ he mused.  _Nothing was what it seemed.  A place so full of sorrow and joy in this universe, should never exist_.  _The universe must surely be unbalanced by its very presence._

After days of unending vigilance by Vir and the others pumping him for information, he was finally left alone.  With the guards outside the door, and Marcus well, somewhere, he could rest in peace.  His vision was still blurry but at least he could see with his own eyes and not some artifical implant.  Sheridan had pump for as much information as he dare and Londo had given it freely.  The danger was too great to keep silent as he knew Cartagia would.  What had happened to him?  He had told Morden that it didn't matter to him if the universe burned.  Now that he'd been scorched, he sang a different tune.  

Those thoughts have been hovering around his mind for days now.  "I am so tired," he murmured to himself.

"You can rest later," a soft voice, whispered to him.  Startled, he looked around and saw a woman, a human, next to him.  He could tell instantly that she too had fallen into shadow.  

"Who are you?" he asked.  "How did you get passed the guards?"

"I am the wife of John Sheridan.  Call me Anne," the woman said.  "I need to know what happened at Z'ha'dum."

He shook his head trying to remember where he had heard her name from before.  "What's your interest with that vile place?"

"It was my home for a long time," she answered.  "I need to know what happened."

"You've escaped from that evil?  Take my advice and stay away," said Londo impassionedly.   "Never go back and try to forget that it ever existed."

"I was told to bring my husband there to negotiate a peace with the Shadows but I need to know what's happened.  I've lost all contact and I can't separate the facts from rumors.  What did you see, Ambassador?"

"The Shadows were fighting for their lives against something worse than they.  I didn't stick around you understand, to see the outcome, but they may not have fared as well as I hoped."  And that was true because the things that attacked the Shadows were worse than they.  He sincerely hoped that they could win because he'd rather deal with the Shadows rather than those they fought against.

"You're wrong about them, Londo.  The Shadows are stronger than the Vorlons.  They will defeat any who come against them."

"Mrs. Sheridan, if that is indeed who you really are, then prepare yourself.  I was exposed to them, and they are in my dreams.  Their dark cities call to me.  Have you felt it?" he asked her.  "I can feel those creatures attempting to convince me to help them.  Each night it becomes stronger.  They are telepathic. Can you feel it?" he asked once more.  "I've been around them, my lady.  But you're a part of the shadows.  What is that part of you saying?"     

That was why she was here.  She could feel it somehow deep within her and it tore at what little bit of soul she still possessed.  "They are in turmoil," she answered.  "Millions are gone.  Millions have been turned.  Millions are fleeing.  But the images…the images are blurred.  I can't contact them."

"Lady Sheridan," Londo spoke.  "The Shadows are chaos.  They will destroy you as they destroyed me.  Please take my advice and get away from them as fast as possible."

"You're wrong.  They are life.  They are purpose."  Here eyes blazed with life.  "You should have kept your promise Ambassador Mollari.  You didn't and there will be a reckoning."

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Mrs. Sheridan.  Now please go.  I'm tired."

"Is that what you want?"

"What I want, you can't give me."    

"Try me," she challenged.

"I want my soul back, something you've apparently lost also."

The return silence was all the answer he needed.

***

The _Babylon_ station, its support group, the _Enterprise_ and the EA loyalist's contingent went on red alert the instant Shadow emissions were detected some six minutes away in hyperspace.  Three of the menacing Shadow vessels appeared, de-phasing into normal space almost on top of the station.  One enemy ship was nearly three kilometers in length, defiantly targeting at the _Enterprise-D_, as if the others didn't matter.  The Starships were on full alert and every weapon it had was trained on the organic vessel.  Nearby the _Yeager_ was hot and ready to support its bigger partner.  Sheridan and the General were at _B5'_s CnC, coordinating what would be a combined strike at this threat.  General Leftcourt gaped at the black and silver image floating in front of them.  It conjured up memories of his darkest nightmares.

"Sir, they're contacting us," a bewildered Corwin said.  The language was in faultless English but for some reason, it grated on Corwin's mind.  It seemed the perfect voice to be used by a complete evil entity.  It tried to reach into his mind.   "They're asking for you."  He hated these things.  

Sheridan's eyebrows merely raised a fraction.  If they weren't attacking already, then he half-expected that they wanted to talk to him.  "Put it on the speaker."  
  


"This is Captain Sheridan to Shadow vessel.  What do you want?"

"We are under truce," a voice said.  "We will not attack.  We need to speak to you in person.  May we board _Babylon Five_?"

"Who is _we_?"

"My name is Justin and all will be explained to you.  But time is of the essence.  May we come onboard?"  The man sounded anxious, even scared that Sheridan would deny his request. 

John needed a few seconds to think.  Next to him Leftcourt said nothing, content to let the man control his own command.  "You can come onboard, but any deviation from your shuttle or any aggressive moves from your ships and we will blow them to hell."

John could feel the anger seething within Justin as he said, "we'll see you, Captain."

Adrenalin hyped, the Captain was moving fast.  "You heard me," he told CnC.  "If those ships even twitch, fire everything you've got.  Get me Ivanova."

Susan and her two escorts practicing with her had switched weapons from simulation to hot as soon as the Shadow vessels were detected.  "She's on, Sir."

Susan was still in her _Thunderbolt_ and as such the senior in command.  He hoped that she remembered their conversations.  

"Susan you're in charge out there.  If they fire, take them out."

"We'll do what we can.  We'll keep the channel open.  Good luck."

"Look at the size of that thing," Leftcourt said.  "I saw the recordings of them fighting the Vorlons, but who are they?"

"Those vessels belong to a species called the Shadows, the same people who've been behind the conflicts all over this sector," John responded, not adding that Clark was involved with them as well.  You remember the ship that was seen on ISN almost a year ago.  Well, the technology that the _Black Omega_ squadron has comes from them.  We've known this for a while and have interfered with their plans more than once. And because of that, given the opportunity, they could kill us all."

"The big one is paying a lot of attention to the _Enterprise-D_."  The Starfleet looked so small compared to the behemoth waiting to swat it down.

"It should," he answered.  The maximum threat-or so they think-comes from those ships out there."  He turned to face the General.  "We've had six months to analyze and develop defenses against their ships and their weapons.  Believe me, if those two go at it, we don't want to be anywhere in the immediate area.  We now have a couple of surprises here also.   Let's hope we don't have to use them."

Curiously, Leftcourt returned the stare.  "Why are you telling me this?" 

"For the same reason why you've told me about the Klingon and Federation technology you've acquired.  We are both at the edge of a cliff right now, General.  Either we soar or we drown together in the river below.  But for now, we will see what develops.  Something's in the wind and this is the perfect opportunity to find out what it is."

***

A black crab-like shuttle made its way towards the station escorted by three Shadow fighters each of whom peeled off as the shuttle neared the station's shuttle's opening.  It was guided in and parked as far as possible from its Vorlon counterpart.  _Babylon Five_ unionists were ordered to stay as far as possible from the living ship for their own safety.  

In the docking bay, the support personnel backed away as the four occupants emerged.  Two were human, the other two weren't.   Sheridan and the General paled as Justin, Morden and the two spider-like Shadows moving silently behind them exited the craft.  Garibaldi's and his six guards, equipped with PPGs and first generation phase pistols, followed behind at a respectful distance.  The fact that they were here was disturbing.  The fact that they were visible was frightening in its implications.  

The conference room held twenty-two council members including Captain Sisko, representing Federation interests.  When Justin entered, he stopped for a moment, acknowledging Sisko's presence.  "You people have caused quite a stir, Captain. You should have taken our offer."

Sisko merely nodded, saying nothing.  His face was carefully neutral.

As soon as everyone was seated Justin, flanked by both Shadows began.   "We have come to ask for your help," he said.  His voice was hollow and he seemed to have trouble speaking the words.  "There have been developments at the homeworld of the Shadows."  

 "As in?" Sheridan asked quietly.

The old man flushed, but before he could speak, one of the Shadow aliens to his right spoke.  Its voice was grating and somehow suggested an echo.

"We have been attacked by a plague formulated by the Vorlonsss," the first creature intoned in English.  It was as though it were speaking to them telepathically, but no one in the room was really sure how it spoke.  "The enemy has come to dessstroy.  Many have fallen.  Unlesss you prepare, you will all die."

The General spoke up.  "Who will die?"  He was clearly upset about this impromptu meeting, feeling way out of his depth. 

The creature's multiples sets of eyes glowed brightly.  "Everyone."

"Why should we believe you?" Sheridan yelled allowing his fury to mask his true intent.  This creature had confirmed his worst fears, but he wanted all of them to hear the full truth, especially the representatives and crews of EarthForce.  "You have been starting wars, pitting one race against another, causing the deaths of millions, all in an attempt to prove your petty theories that your way is better than the Vorlons.  But now you've wiped them out and you're still trying to manipulate us."

"You are wrong, Ssheridan," the second creature responded.  "Sssurvival comesss through ssstrife.  It hasss made you ssstronger.   Now you mussst ussse that ssstrength to sssurvive.  We, the onesss you call Ssshadows have alwaysss loved and protected the races and have desssired only the bessst for you.  Without conflict you would wither and die.  Continued peace and order are weaknesss.  Cartagia, your Presssident and the othersss were the catalysstsss usssed to make you ssstronger."

General Leftcourt and the others listening on the comlink collectively gasped.  Clark's name spoken by the Shadow had struck like a lightning.  Some believed it a deception, but others were in doubt.  There was a quiet silence as everyone digested the ongoing conference.

"Are you saying that you were directly involved with Cartagia and Clark?" Sheridan asked, loud enough so that there would be no doubt that everyone heard.

"You sssuspected thisss long ago, Ssheridan.  But it doesss not matter now.  The enemy knowsss of your presssence and they will come and dessstroy you as they have usss.  Centauri Prime'sss time isss near.  Minbar'sss time isss near.  Earth's time isss near."

The representatives erupted, but Sheridan's voice overrode everyone's.  "So you've started a fight with something you can't handle and you want us to help you to clean up your mess?"

"It's not just our mess.  It's yours, too.  My associates made sure of it," Morden announced coldly.  He had that poker look in his eyes like a man who had all the cards.  "Clark owed us a favor, a big one," he continued, smiling confidently.   "We contacted him a few days ago and believe me he was more than happy to hear from us.  Right now he's ordered a fleet of ships to surprise attack Centauri Prime.  He expects that my associates will help him as they have on numerous occasions.  What they will find," he smirked, "is something else."

"Why are you betraying Clark?" Sheridan asked and the room became deathly silent awaiting the answer.

The answer was chilling in its simplicity.  "His importance has diminished in light of new and unforeseen events."

The General was absolutely stunned.  "You mean that Clark made an agreement to have you creatures help him subdue Centauri Prime." The man was so furious he could barely speak.  "You've been in association with the Drakh! And now, you're telling me that you're going to help us defeat the Centauri?"

"You do not underssstand.  We will not help.  We have nothing to help with.  What remainss of usss will follow the Vorlonsss and turn towardsss the rim.  The younger racesss will be left along to sssurvive or perissh.  Learn, young oness."

The creature's eyes glowed and encompassed everyone in the room.  It telepathically bonded with all of them-except Sisko.

A few seconds later, "the General was screaming.  "What have you creatures done?  How can we fight something like that by ourselves?"

The creature ignored the Generals' ranting as it focused on Sisko.  "You," it whispered softly enough for only him to hear.  "You are more than you pretend to be.  Multi-temporal, an entity bessidess itsself," it said to Benjamin Sisko, a man just beginning to fully understand what he truly was.  Then it turned its gaze back towards Sheridan.

"Captain Sheridan," Morden said with that irritating manner.  "My associates have never wanted to destroy the younger races, only make us stronger by weeding out the weak.  But now it seems that the great experiment has to be terminated early."

"Cowards!"

Justin smiled.  "Realists, General.  Think of it this way.  This is the culmination of everything my associates have worked for.  The question is, will you come together to defend and defeat a superior force, or will you follow your ideals and be slaughtered?"

There was nothing else to be said.  

"Get off _Babylon Five_," growled Sheridan.  "While I'm in the mood to let you walk away."

 Sssheridan," one of the creatures whispered.  "You have sstrength.  Come with uss.  Come with Anne and you will survive."

"They're at Z'ha'dum.  We will stop them and do what you couldn't.  We will not allow them to solidify their foothold in this universe any more than they already have."

"The Vorlonsss have not told you the real truth, Sssheridan.   It iss a three-edged sssword.  If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die.  It iss not yoursss to have.  We will go.  Anne will come with usss."

He froze for a second.  "She's not yours to have," Sheridan said harshly.  All of the indifference he had towards her evaporated.  

"The Shadowsss claim their own.  Ssshe will dissstract you."

"Wasn't that the point in the first place?   You believe that I couldn't see through that?  You did that to her."

"We did not know who she was until later," Justin explained.  "As soon as we discovered who she was, we pulled her out of the vessel she was assigned to.  But you must understand, things happen once you've been attached to the machine," he nearly babbled.  "When they pull you out, you're not quite the same anymore.  She is ours," he said finally.  "And she will never be the woman you've known before."

"Get off my station, now."

"Not without Anne Sheridan," he insisted.

"Ssshe isss no longer yoursss, John Sssheridan," the first Shadow alien intoned.    "What hasss been touched by usss can never be the sssame again.  Ssshe belongs with usss."

"Touched or not, she doesn't belong to anyone," John retorted.  "She has a freedom of choice and that is a right that every sentient being has.  She is not your property to be taken away as is convenient for you."

"That includes you as well," Captain.  I'm surprised that you even want her here.  She was simply a distraction that didn't work as well as we'd like."  Justin nodded his head, slowly taking in the surroundings as if for the last time.   "Or did it?"

"Ssshe will come with usss.  When you die, we will have enough to ssstart over."

Sisko suddenly stood up.  "You mean breeding stock."  The look of revulsion on his face said it all.

"To pressserve the ssspeciesss.  Yesss."

"Guards," Sheridan ordered.  "Escort these people out."

"Ssshe will come now, or we will dessstroy this ssstation and everyone onboard."

"Give me a break."  Unlike the others in the room, Sheridan had been unimpressed by the threat.  "You come here practically begging us for our help and then you threaten to kill us all because I won't cave into one demand to send my ex-dead wife over to you?  I don't believe it.  You don't have the time or the resources to destroy this station because you need everything you have to turn tail and run."  He pointed in the direction of the Shadow warships.  "We've been gathering lots of data on your ships and I have every weapon on this station and our support ships trained on those ships out there.  And I wouldn't count on your big ship helping you that much because it's going to have its hands absolutely full with the _Enterprise_ and their combat group.  It's been said over and over that once an attack has begun, a Shadow vessel never runs.  That's great PR.   And it's true-unless it runs into something that it can't handle, then discretion _is_ the better part of valor.  You always attack those weaker than you so you can afford to fight until the end, because you couldn't lose.  Now you can lose and you will, if you start something right now."

Both Shadows seemed to grow in front of everyone's eyes.  Then:  "Sssurvive, if you can."

The instant they exited the room Sheridan slapped his comlink.  "Security."

"Security here."

"Escort Anne Sheridan to the conference room, now."

"Yes, sir."

 "Cancel that," he said a moment later.  This was something he needed to do alone.

***


	21. In the Face of the Enemy

_This is a continuation of the answers on 'The Conversation'_ _Hey Peliar Zel:  First, thanks for your comments.  I have read the Q-Zone books, however I don't consider them canon.  And this has brought up another point that I needed to address concerning this story and the rest.  JMS the creator of B5 said something very interesting that a lot of people including myself, did not understand.  He said that he didn't read other writers materials at all.  The reason why is because he didn't want to get any one else's idea in his mind and he didn't want to be accused of stealing someone else's material because of it.  At first it sounded arrogant and hostile, but I now understand what he meant.  As for myself I go out of my way to not follow the different books and other stories outside of the movies and TV shows and the official 'canon' makings of…books.  Therefore, I have a different and unique approach that is mine without other influences (as much as I can).  I have found that some of my material is very close to a few others but for the most part I can relax because I got there independently of the others.   I have had this discussion with an acquaintance of mine.  Even though we share some of the same characters, he chooses to follow the DS9 book series to back his story up where as I will not and refuse to touch them for the reasons stated above.  There are some parts of 'The Enterprise at Babylon 5' that are so close to mine that I had to avoid parts of my story so that I would not overlap or be accused of anything.  I like to err on the side of caution.   If I choose that route then, I always acknowledge the author or story that I am referencing._ _                                    ***_ _    
 Carycomic (carycomix@aol.com) had a question: Is this time machine that Q mentioned the same one that caused a time-loop on a certain episode of "Stargate SG-1?" A time-loop that only Jack and Teal'c noticed?_ _…The answer is no.  Remember SG-1 and their technologies and story-line have nothing to do with this story here.  Nothing of that timeline survived with the exception of one stargate and some stray memories…_ _                                    ***_ _Renato's comments: Very good attempt at tying in the discrepancies in Star Trek and elsewhere. Perhaps the Temporal Cold War was what caused the Borg destruction of the El-Aurian homeworld. El-Aurians appear to have an innate sense of temporal shifts and as such, were dangerous to various temporal factions._

This was a very good point that I had not thought of.  However I would have to say no, because I don't want to put everything on the TCW.  Things happened and Guinan's people suffered like so many have at the hands of the Borg.

_Texan:  When is the next part of "Potentials" coming out?_

****

**_Thank you, people.  Now, on with the story._**

****

**_Chapter 19 _**

**_In the Face of the Enemy_**

****

****

Centauri Prime: 

"Jump!"

President Clark's personal elite force of six shadow _Omegas made the jump_ into Centauri space, prepared for the fight of their lives.  They were alone with no backup, and faced with impossible orders to hit Centauri Prime with everything they had and get out with their vessels intact.  It would be a major accomplishment for the President, giving him a much needed political boost and at the same time striking at the very heart of his Centauri enemies.  With this war behind him, he could then concentrate on solidifying his hold on Earth and eventually _Babylon 5_.  That was the plan.

Hyperspace probes forewarned the Centauri that they were coming but surprisingly they had met little resistance.  It was assumed that they would be attacked the instant they entered normal space.  The last of the new '_Black Omegas'_ were the most powerful ship ever created by EarthForce, but like the others lost at Proxima III they were rushed into service with crews not fully trained in the new technologies the ships used.  In fact, the Captains were not entirely happy with the orders, but they were completely loyal to the Clark regime.  

They expected fierce resistance the moment they hit normal space.  But was they saw was unbridled carnage.  As far as the eyes could see and scanners could detect, Centauri warships alongside Drakh vessels were engaged and being destroyed by a much smaller force of alien ships, that at first could have been mistaken for Vorlon fighters of some type.  But these small ships looked more 'aquatic-like' in appearance.  And they were fast too.  

Traditional weapons of both Drakh and Centauri Capital ships barely affected the much larger enemy destroyers with the huge glowing balls that made up the bulk of the ship.   They used weapons that ejected a kind of plasma pulse weapon that destroyed on contact.  The energy discharges from those 'sphere ships' were so strong that neither the Drakh nor Centauri vessels survived a hit from one of them.

The Scanner officer onboard the lead _Omega_, was impressed by the slaughter going on.  "There are only nine of those enemy ships, Sir; five fighters and four capitals."

"They're not our problem."  _The enemy of my enemy_ he thought.  "They're just making our job easier.  Proceed to Centauri Prime. Take the safety the safeties off the nukes."

The EA ships eased through crowded space with little difficulty, preparing to unload their ordinance on a planet that already had fires visible from orbit.  Most of the Centauri vessels were far too busy trying to survive the attacking alien ships and were virtually ignoring the jet-black Earth ships making an attack run towards their planet.  

But unexpectedly, two of the enemy fighters and one of the larger 'ballships' disengaged the Centauri and Drakh and attacked the lead EA vessel before it reached attack range of the planet.  Weapons fire gutted the unsuspecting ship at a range that seemed unbelievable.  The ship was drilled into deeply on the port side, bioarmor notwithstanding.  Retaliatory strikes by the EA succeeded in destroying one medium fighter, but that simply allowed the larger alien ship time to get into range.  The ship fired a plasma burst and hit another _Omega_.  The energy weapon burned through the ship's engine and continued to burn through the aft middle and finally, the forward sections.  The ship blew to bits before the energy pulse could finish the job.  Returning fire proved fruitless against the larger alien ship.  The enemy ships had electronic screens protecting them, not unlike the Federation shielding.  Casually, it blew two more of his ships into vapor.  

Captain Jake Thompson, Commander of the advanced destroyer battle-group had had enough. The remains of the battlegroup retreated, but not before they had been reduced to three ships.  To his horror, the tactician in him understood that those alien ships were simply a probing force.  He intended to return to Earth to deliver his report as to Clark as soon as possible.  There was a new enemy on the horizon.

***

Captain Sandra Hiroshi felt confident.  She felt terrified.  She felt in command.  She felt isolated.  She felt lonely.  She felt betrayed.  She felt like a betrayer.  She felt innocent.  She felt guilty as sin.  

-But, most of all, she felt alive.

_White Star_ _Three_ was her ship now.  There were Minbari onboard, once enemies now crewmates and friends.  There were members of her old crew onboard as well who now understood the vessel almost as well as those who had made it.  And everyone worked together in a spirit of –what was the word she was looking for?

 Ah, yes-peace.  

But she was also angry.  The _Ambassador_ had received a transmission.  Her friend and companion Gerald Higgins was alive and had turned his modified _Thunderbolt _over to EarthForce.  She cursed loudly when she had been informed.  She should have seen it coming.  All the signs were there but he had ignored them because he was her first in command and her friend.  But she should have known.  When threatened, family came first.  Could she have lived with herself if Clark had killed Higgins family out of retaliation for the defeat of EarthForce at _Babylon Five_ so long ago?  Could she have pushed back the guilt knowing that Gerald hadn't wanted to defect in the first place?  The answer was yes and no.  She was responsible for him and she was responsible for not seeing the signs.  War is never simplistic, and civil wars are the most grievous of all.  She hated what he had done but- she couldn't blame him.  What was done was done and it was time to move on. Besides there were going to be too many skeletons unearthed when this was over.  What was one more?  And just maybe it was for the best.  The universe itself is never black and white, merely trillions of colors and shades of gray.

She got up from the command chair and stretched for all she was worth.  Minbari 'beds' (she preferred to call them torture racks) didn't allow her to rest the way she wanted to and so she was a touch restless.  But the food wasn't bad, especially with the replicators onboard.  And short-ranged communications kept her in contact with her companions quite nicely.  

-And she missed William.  The man was a flirt, but she was _her_ flirt.  And of course she liked to flirt back.  Indeed, some of her happier times had been with him on _B5_ despite all the dangers and uncertainties.  He and that stupid trombone helped her get over the terrible losses that seemed to be so much a part of all of their lives recently.  The psychological recovery from her injuries was greatly sped along by his serenades.  If nothing else, it had helped her get away from med bay, where she was trapped forced to listen to his playing day and night.  And actually to be fair, his playing wasn't that bad at all.  

There was a kindness about him beneath that hard exterior.   As Captain, she had seen her share of combat, but not continuously for twenty-two years.  At night, sometimes he woke up in cold sweats, barely suppressing screams.  She had talked with him about it for weeks and between their sharing, love started to bloom.  The best thing about it was that he made her dinner for her everyday for a week to quote, 'make her feel better and appease his guilt,' unquote.  His Japanese cooking was excellent.  One day when all this insanity was over she would have him make dinner for her family.     

When she thought about it, she was still in a state of semi-shock.  With all the men available in the world, there was something ironic about finding a 'friend' from an entirely different Earth.  Another universe, another Earth, another reality.  When she discovered the truth about the Federation, she was hurt.  Riker should have trusted her and told her the truth.  She didn't want to speak to him for a while as she adjusted the incredible truth.   It was all crazy, but it made sense and answered a ton of questions she had concerning these strange people who weren't so strange anymore.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.  They were at the edge of the solar system called Dum and according to orders, they were about to enter normal space.  This was her first time being so far from an Earth base and she felt more like an explorer than anything else.  Her First-in-Command was a Minbari named Telrak who she came to depend on and trust as a friend.  He was full of quiet humor, none of which was showing now as they prepared to exit hyperspace.

For the last twelve hours, hyperspace was littered with the remains of Shadow craft of all types, along with Drakh vessels and several other alien ships that computers had no records of.  There was one Drakh carrier so large that at first Hiroshi thought that the scanners needed recalibration.  It was a shade less than sixty kilometers in size, pot-marked by weapons fire, adrift and abandoned in hyperspace.  There was damage seen in every section of mammoth vessel.  Parts of the ship were melted while other sections simply had large kilometer-sized holes in it.  Surrounding the ship were hundreds of Drakh combat-class fighters and others not immediately identifiable.  Three Shadow vessels were seen and tracked in the distance, but they didn't come near the convoy, on a course headed away from their destination.  The ambassadors and aides watched the devastation in mute silence, their fears slowly growing as they closed in towards their target system.  Onboard _Ambassador, _Kosh merely observed, speaking only once when a particular vessel, wrecked and partially decapitated, a warship of some kind, floated by on the view screen.  "They are here," he said.  

When Sandra heard that from Rachel, she blanched.  She knew a bad sign when she heard one.

*** 

The _Papros _and the_ Blue Nova _exited together, vectoring towards the outermost planet.  Her _White Star_ and the _Ambassador_ paralleled them.  It took about five seconds for Charlotte, her crew and the others, to realize that they weren't going any closer.  As far as the sensors could detect, there were remains of Shadow and Drakh vessels scattered throughout the area for nearly a light-year in very direction. The four ships came back together and began deep scans of the area.  There have been a big fight here and they'd missed it and she felt absolutely ecstatic about it. 

A destroyed Centauri vessel whose configuration was totally alien, yet eerily familiar caught her eye. 

"Captain Kanyunn?"

"I see it," the Minbari Commander answered.  "It seems that your President wasn't the only one who somehow acquired Shadow technology."

She bristled once more, but said nothing.  The vessel in front of her was evidence enough.  It was a _Primus_ version of the _Papros_.  It was covered with Shadow organic armor and spines just like hers, with the exception that it was thoroughly wrecked.  There were also several modified _Sentrii_ fighters, analogs of her own shadow-modified _Starfuries_.  They all looked as though they had tangled with a nuke and had lost.  Next to it were two of the strangest ships she'd ever seen.  Almost squid-shaped in appearance they floated in space looking almost bloated in death.  It was a hideous sight."

"Can you detect any lifeforms anywhere in the area?"

"Nothing yet in the immediate area, but it's hot the closer we scan towards the planet.

"We may have come out here for nothing," she murmured as she watched the information coming in.   "I've never seen ships like those.  So many."

"Captain Hiroshi is on low-band, Ma'am."

She nodded.  "Clark, here."

"I'm going in," Sandra said.  "I need a distraction."

"It's too dangerous," Charlotte responded.  "We can get the readings from here and get out."

"We need to know exactly what's going on.  That's why we came out here."

"The Shadow vessels, the Drakh, all these others-all destroyed.  What kind power are we dealing with?"

Hiroshi didn't even hear her.  "I need a distraction," she repeated much louder this time.  "Straight in and straight out.  I'll jump to warp and meet you at the prescribed rendezvous point."

"These things are fast, Captain Hiroshi.  Will you be able to dodge their counter fire at the speed you'll be going?"

"This is a White Star," she hissed.  "If they want to hit me, I'm going to make them work for it."

"Head's up, people," Garrett said breaking in.  "Go to battle stations."

"We haven't detected anything," Delenn said over her comms.

"Kosh says we've been spotted and that's good enough for me."

"We should retreat to hyperspace," Clark suggested rather forcefully.

"Too late," Delenn said.  Our scanners have them."  

"How did they know we were here?" 

"Kosh said they're telepaths," Garrett responded.  "They didn't need to use their ship's scanners to track us.  They might have followed our brainwaves."

"They're that strong?"  To have that much power seemed unthinkable to Clark.  Telepaths.  She really didn't like them and this wasn't helping at all.

"No, but something is enhancing their abilities."

"I'm going in," the former EA captain said. A moment later _White Star Three_ started its run toward Z'ha'dum.  

The first of a dozen of the squid-like ships finally cleared the debris field.  It didn't attack but simply waited for two of its mates to join it, which they did a moment later.  That it simply waited well within the strike forces weapon's range spoke of arrogance and a confidence that it could handle whatever weapons fire would be thrown at them.   

"Captain, shall we launch a fighter screen?"

"Negative," Clark answered.  If they launched their fighters, they would be spread everywhere.  "No," she confirmed.  "Not right now.  Target those ships. Defensive batteries prepare to repel enemy counter fire."

"We've been locked.  Weapon's spike!"

The squid ships fire three energy pulses at the _Papros, _which was now moving forward,being flanked by the _Blue Nova _and the_ Ambassador._  The _Papros' _powerful defensive batteries managed to block the first two strikes but the third one got through and rocked the ship.  The _Papros_ returned fire and blew one of the offenders out of space.  The others survived the attack and fired again, hitting the Minbari cruiser.  

Neroon grimaced as he nearly lost his footing.  "They have shielding, like the Federation ships," he snarled stating the obvious.  He held his peace and remained with Delenn allowing Kanyunn to continue.  They both watched as their ships main guns tore into the two enemy ships cutting through the shields, destroying them.  And it took a lot of power to do it, something that hadn't been anticipated.

Taking a hit, the _Papros_ jerked from an enemy strike.  "Wonderful," Captain Clark whispered as she held on to her chair.   That blast had nearly burned thru the first and second layers of her ship's defensive armor.  The good thing was that there were no injuries or vitals systems hit, as of yet.

"We have a small group coming from the planet, another twelve of their fighters and a big one vectoring in on us.  ETA, nine minutes."

On the screen to her right, Clark watched as Hiroshi's ship's engines started their burn.  The ship disappeared quickly amidst all the debris.   "Red alert people.  Main weapons to full power.  We're going to be bait for a while."  Next to her she saw the _Ambassador's _power signature flared up.  Her ship's sensors couldn't  determine what _Blue Nova _was doing, however she assumed that it was preparing to respond to the oncoming treat as well.  She hoped their combined firepower would be enough. 

"Helm, start moving.  I don't want us standing here like sitting ducks."

"Aye, Ma'am."

***

TBC 


	22. KOSH KNOWS

**_Chapter 20_**

****

**_"Kosh Knows" _**

****

_White Star Three_ was moving fast now towards the brownish, murky, intimidating planet known as Z'ha'dum.  It looked like a giant mud-ball with a few clouds dotting the landscape.  She could see several fires still burning on the planet and surrounding it were hundreds of ships of various sizes.  Many of the smaller ones appeared organic in nature even more so than the Vorlon ships she'd seen.  In most cases, these strange vessels were squid-like in appearance, their configurations identical except for size. The first was comparable to a Starfury, the second was a bit smaller than her _White Star_.  

The others were of a bizarre design containing one or more large blue globes at what she assumed were the rear of the ships.  Her sciences officers speculated that those power sources were actually engines of some kind, possibly using either gravity enhanced fusion or housing some type of matter-antimatter reactor protected by some form of gravimetric shielding.  There were other, larger vessels of similar design orbiting the planet as well.  But their 'energy ballon' reactors were far smaller and Hiroshi surmised that they were transports of some kind.  

Then, Hiroshi was yelling for evasives, as two of the fighters began to match her every movement, trying their best to get a lock on her ship.  They were of the smaller design but were almost as fast and now they were joined by two more their kind. 

Sandra didn't worry about what was chasing her.  The _White Star_ was incredibly fast and the Minbari piloting the ship seemed inspired by his job in avoiding the enemy while getting through to their objective.  It was the object in front enraptured her completely.  It was the artifact that Kosh had told them about, glowing a radiant, brilliant blue.   And in the center, the object generated a jump point, or what she assumed was some variation of a jumpoint, allowing twenty more large warships and transports to transit into normal space.  That was what it was, she remembered; a portal that opened not to hyperspace or subspace but some other type of space, a third space for a lack of a better name.  

Sensors also indicated that there was an energy shield around the doorway, powerful enough so that warships couldn't easily punch through without a lot of backup support.  That would take up valuable time when the inevitable assault began.  For the some reason, the device had just reduced power output as if it were conserving power.  Then the _White Star_ was past it, moving into deep space.  

The pursuing enemy ships had been joined by another much larger warship that, incredibly, gained on her, closing into attack range.  It fired.  A plasma pulse erupted from the front of the alien vessel, and the energy readings on the _White Star_ went off the scale.  They should have been evading the energy pulse.  They weren't.

 "Telrak?  Telrak!" Sandra yelled.  

Her pilot seemed to be in some type of trance, but her yelling broke whatever it was, in time for him to reorient the ship's trajectory to keep from being hit.  She gasped at the blast that screamed by when she saw that it was larger in size than her _White Star_, looking for all the world like a small blazing sun.

"Telrak?"

"Forgive me, Captain."  It was apparent that he had been stressed by whatever had so completely mesmerized him.  "I could hear something calling to me telling me that everything was fine.  I almost killed us," he muttered.  Now his concentration improved by the second, and he was able to respond while the smaller ships peppered the _White Star's_ shields with long-distance weapons fire.

"They're telepathic," she reminded him.  "You have to fight it."

"But I can't-don't want to," the Minbari answered.  His voice was hoarse.  "They're calling me."

"Let them call all they want," she retorted.  "Just don't give in to it."

"It's like nothing I have ever experienced," the Minbari said as he tried to understand what he'd experienced.  "The calling is on a most fundamental level, not completely compatible with my mind.  But I know what it wants."

"They're firing again.  They've launched three of their pulses this time."

"Rear defensive fire," Sandra urgently ordered.  "Try to detonate them. Warp speed, same direction."

The fleeing _White Star_ fired it rear weapons as it jumped to warp six, fleeing the area.  Most of the returning fire was simply absorbed by the energy globes but one of the plasma charges detonated.  Twenty square kilometers of space rocked from the resulting explosion.

***

Captain Garrett and all those who witnessed it were shocked by the violence of the blast.  _White Star Three_ had gone to warp just before the shockwave would have caught up to them.  "It was an antimatter annihilation blast of some sort.  Plasma based," she said.  "Reminds me of a Romulan plasma weapon but with a lot more punch.  Have our research people perform a full analysis of that explosion and pass it on." 

"Captain?"

"I see them.  Fire."  

She said nothing more as forward phasers drilled the small ship attacking her, burning thru its force field and eviscerating the offending vessel. The second vessel retreated, opting to wait until it had more support.   Delenn's ship was doing a fine job of keeping another set of smaller fighters at bay as well.  So far the enemy hadn't really made a big push.  But as soon as four more of the medium-sized fighter vessels joined the survivor, they attacked once more.

"Aggressive, aren't they?" Castillo said.

She was still impressed by the nerve of one of the smaller ships trying to cripple her vessel, and even more impressed by the overall power it possessed.  The moment the pilot had understood that her ship had energy shielding, it had released a full, concentrated salvo at her bridge, in an attempt to overwhelm her forward shields or more likely to gauge the strength of the shields.

Clark did a quick comparison of her own, to the standard output of a standard Star Fury.  Again those shields made all the difference.  It would take at least six shots to overcome and begin damaging one of those shielded vessels and that would spell doom for the pilot.  The overall weapons fire itself was more than three times a Star Fury's weapon's output. 

"The big one is almost within weapon's range.  Their weapons are powering up."

"We really don't have time for this," Rachel said.  Ready photon torpedoes, full spread…Delenn, Charlotte?"

Long-ranged missiles are loaded and locked," Clark announced.  "Jump engines online.  Power up at my command.  

"Captain Kanyunn has long ranged batteries targeted and ready."  

"Acknowledged.  Fire."  

Four photon torpedoes sped directly towards the alien destroyer.  All four explosions were repelled by its shield, but those shields had been weakened and the multi-megaton warheads from the _Papros_ slammed into them a moment later weakening them even more.  The alien vessel's armaments went cold as all available power was needed to shore up the weakening shield just as another volley of photons hit, followed by intense energy weapons bombardment from _Bright Nova_.  The shields died just as it reached optimum firing position.  The Minbari ship wasn't letting up and the blue ball that was its energy generator began faltering even as the ship tried to get away from the devastating and unrelenting attack. Continued phasers bursts pushed the enemy's shields into the red.  Several of the smaller squid-ships threw everything they had against the Minbari warship in a desperate attempt to relieve the pressure, but they found themselves under heavy EA and Minbari counter fire.  

The blue energy ball went out like a blown light bulb then shattered into a million pieces; pieces with enough energy to promptly destroy anything they came in contact with.    

The two remaining ships tried to flee only to be hit by the _Papros_ once more.  One was destroyed. The other was seriously damaged, its systems energy output began to falter.

"_Ambassador_, can you transport the creature?"

"Affirmative."

The creature was beamed into the brig, supported by heavy security.  Its ship  was transported into cargo bay one.

Delenn came online.  "Everyone," she demanded.  "Look at your sensors."

There were at least ten fighters and three of the Destroyers advancing rapidly towards their position.  

"We've done what we came to do.  _White Star Three_ is gone and I suggest we do likewise."

As one, the small group began turning, powering up their jump engines minutes before the enemy arrived.

An hour later, _White Star Three_ rendezvoused with its three companions in hyperspace.  Linking together once more, they began their rapid journey home.

***

**_USS Ambassador:_**

In Conference Room Two, Delenn, Sandra, Charlotte, Kanyunn, and Neroon on vidline compared their results and began the process of preparing their reports.  All the representative ambassadors were present or online, waiting cautiously for detailed information concerning the mission and about the captured alien.  Only Kosh failed to appear.  But that was to be expected.

Doctor Selar is at the brig," Rachel began.  "We've transported our prisoner from the wreckage which is being analyzed now.  So far, from the little data we've gathered, we have been able to determine its life support requirements."

"What are its requirements?" Neroon Asked.

"From our prelim bioscans and analysis, we've determined that it can survive in a variety of atmospheres, ranging from oxygen to methane to ammonia-based atmospheres.  It is primarily a water-breathing being that originated from an oxygen based planet.  But, as I said before, it can handle a large variety of different environments."

"How did it adapt itself?"

"The creature is a cybernetic composite organism," she explained.  "It's very intelligent and very hostile.  Although injured, we can't get close enough to examine it properly.  We know  It's telepathic but it has also exhibited a wide vocal range.  Attempts at conventional communication with it have been almost completely useless, very likely because it simply chooses not to.  The telepaths onboard my ship have not been able to directly communicate with it.  They believe that the 'frequency' the alien uses is very different from known telepathy we've encountered so far.  Of course, it may not want to."  

"But I remember that Kosh said that the aliens were able to subvert some of his own people using telepathy."

"True.  He believes that the aliens somehow modified the gateway to enhance and make their telepathy compatible to influence others not of their species." 

"They certainly are aggressive, but are they really that much of a threat?  They may be able to be reasoned with," Garrett said.  Then more coldly: "Federation policy dictates we should always try the diplomatic approach before we start blowing things up.  Let's try to reason with it a little more."

***

Commander Richard Castillo felt more uncomfortable by the moment as he and several guards continued to observe the prisoner inside cell three.  Although the creature could survive easily in a variety of conditions, the cell was filled with salt water, attuned specifically for its needs.  Lighting was dimmed to half normal. The water was cold, barely above freezing, but the alien seemed not to be distress because of its own body temperature.  It was backed up against the wall, breathing quickly as though in panic, or more likely, it was a defensive posture.  The huge alien was definitely aquatic and odd-looking but not as unusual as he could have imagined it to be.  It had appendages, three sets of them and a mouth-like structure not unlike an Terran squid.  There were two sets of large liquid-gray eyes near the top of its scaled head.  The skin of the creature itself seemed to blend into the surrounding prison cell, a sort of camouflage, but the creature gave off a lot of heat, almost twelve degrees higher than normal humans and the cell's sensors were tracking its every movement.

Next to Richard, Doctor Selar stood with Vulcan steadiness, carefully watching her would-be patient, who seemed to be watching her just as intently in return.

"Chromatophores, Commander," she said, confirming his own suspicions.

"That was my guess," he confirmed.  "There are several species that can blend into their surrounding environment like this.  The aliens of Marcellous XII can do that.  We have Terran creatures like the octopus and squid that change colors, but the way this creature's blending with the cell is incredible."  The truth was they could barely see it backed into the corner like that. 

"This creature's ability is impressive," Selar stated.  "I am not familiar with Earth's aquatic fauna Commander, but I believe that the analogy is correct.  My initial examination detected cybernetic implants situated throughout the cerebral and spinal areas, extending from the frontal tri-lobes throughout the length of the spinal chord and minor nerve branches"

"Any idea why?"

"Unknown commander.  I am not familiar with these types of implants, but it seems logical that they aid in communications and may be used as an interface with their vessels."

"Communicating with its vessels," he mused.  "That would have some definite advantages.  Their response time could be a lot faster than ours.  "

"Yes."  Selar's curiosity got the better of her and she moved closer to the cell to get a better look at her subject.  

The creature let out a high screeching wail that threatened to damage the eardrums of the crew.  Then, another appendage appeared, literally materialization from nowhere.  It possessed a metallic tip, which the creature proceeded to thrust into the center of the forcefield.  The tip penetrated the field and fired some sort of weapon into the room.  Castillo and Selar evaded the blasts as security opened up with phasers.  The tip was destroyed and the beams passed through the field and knocked the creature into the far wall.  The appendage and tip remained on the outside of the shield, while the creature began wailing in frustration, once more.

Shaken, Castillo quickly ordered the field to be strengthened.  "Personally, I wouldn't want to meet something like this unless I had my phaser rifle already pointed and firing in its direction."  

The creature was easily twice his size and with those tentacles, over three times his length.   He wouldn't have stood a chance unarmed and alone.   He tapped his comm.-link.  "Captain Garrett."

"Garrett here."

 "Sir, the alien tried to break out.  It generated a new arm with some type of weapon which penetrated the cells force field."  The creature was screaming.  He could barely hear her.  

"Was anyone hurt?"

"Only it," he answered.  "Its strength in tremendous and we used lethal setting before it decided to back off.  Stun setting was barely effective, Ma'am.  We may have to resort to lethal force if it attempts to break out again."

"What is that horrible noise?"

"It's upset with us," he said dryly.   "The creature has cybernetic implants.  I don't think we will be able to fully examine the creature considering how uncooperative it is."  

"This is Doctor Selar, the Vulcan interjected.  "It is my belief that the creature is healing itself.  It is telepathic on some fundamental level that I am not familiar with.  It has been trying to impress upon me its willingness to be friendly.  It wants me to release it."

"Don't," she ordered.

"Agreed.  I recommend a remote site in which to observe the creature in addition to security here to make sure that the guards are not affected.  And we need to adjust the force shield to keep that noise," he added pointing to the alien's cell, "down to a minimum."

"By all means Commander, do it."

"Yes, Captain."

***

Lieutenant Commander Facar, Engineer Lonnis, a Minbari on loan, and Lieutenant Sonya Gomez finished their preliminary scans of the alien vessel's remains approximately six hours into the returning journey back to _Babylon 5_.  Despite their initial beliefs, the alien ship was not organic based like the Vorlon or Shadow ships, but the majority of the vessel did have organic components.  The ship's 'shell' was apparently the remains of some unknown space dwelling creature.  It was remarkable resilient to weapons fire and the rigors of space.   The internal area was strictly non-organic as the creature had been hollowed out.   One thing was clear; the gel-filled cockpit had almost no instrumentation other than a series of holes.  

Now that they knew that the pilot had implants, these 'holes' were very likely interface points for the pilot.  If that assumption was true, then it would be a true symbiotic mating of the organic and inorganic.  Sonya had seen something like this on the Binar home planet, but that was nothing as remotely complex as this was.  

The Minbari simply shook his head. The exterior of the ruined vessel changed colors as though it had been stained and that gave the impression that it was decaying before his eyes.   "I have never seen anything like this.  We will not be able to access the onboard systems, even if we wanted to. I am not sure if we should even touch it thing." 

Sonya Gomez was in fully agreement.  It reminded her of something rotting.   "That is assuming that there are systems onboard.   It is possible that the pilot of this vessel may_ be_ the computer."

"It is an abomination," Lonnis said.  "These creatures should not be allowed to live."  

***

In his quarters, Kosh waited.  He warred within.  The ancient enemy was close enough to face but so far he had chose not to confront the creature despite Delenn's suggestion.  Was he afraid?  Even he wasn't sure of the answer to that question.  The memories of that terrible time had been imprinted in his people's genes and passed in from generation to generation as a warning.  And now with some reservations, he accessed those memories once more.

The creature locked inside that cell almost close enough to touch, was an ancient species, older than even his people.  And he felt somehow lessened now that it was onboard.  The racial memory was strong, constantly warning him of the danger present.  Kosh could feel the hatred bordering on insanity, for all things not its own emanating from the creature.  His people never understood why they hated so much, but now this was the opportunity to find out.  The creature was attuned to him and he felt its constant telepathic probing.  There had been a sudden sensation of pain as the being tried to break through the forcefield containing it, in order to destroy its captors.  He felt the rage and terror it tried to inflict onto the younger races but they were too far away and the 'frequency' it needed to affect them wasn't fully within its range without the artificial enhancements.   Frustrated at having failed its rage built once more.  Ithat unrestrained emotion slammed into Kosh like a wave.

Kosh prepared himself.  It couldn't directly influence him now that he was prepared.  He reached out, his mind touching the creatures' coldness waiting to greet him. 

"Vorlon," the creature hissed in recognition.

"Enemy," he returned discovering the name for the first time.  "Why?"

"Life is worthy for those who claim it.  Life must deserve to live or it is worth nothing.  That life deserves nothing but death or to be food."

"But you destroy life in all forms."

"Life must not be allowed to rise up and try to destroy us again.  It has tried to annihilate us many times.  We survive and remember." 

Kosh shivered against the waves of pure menace spreading from the creature and he remembered:

***

Long before he was, his people the Vorlons had opened the gateway.  They had sent another, identical gateway to the 'other side' and surprisingly it had worked.  There was a connection.   A dimensional doorway opened and his people were able to pass through to what they considered a higher level of existence.  What they discovered was not another higher plane, but another universe not unlike the one they were escaping from.   

The great experiment had taken a left turn but the lure to explore a new universe was irresistible and several convoys went through.   To their chagrin a higher level of existence was the last thing they'd discovered.  What they found was desolation on a level undreamed of.  World, after world, after world, after world; destroyed, wrecked, abandoned, poisoned, and burned.  So many uncounted trillions perished.  The Vorlon expeditionary force eventually discovered a fleet of ships, another unwelcome surprise and confirmation that they were way off in their calculations.  

By their standards, the ships were primitive, a motley group of nations banded together to wage war on their neighbors.  The young never learned.  This universe was just as chaotic as the home.  But as Vorlons, his race couldn't help it.  They interfered.  The Vorlons approached them and discovered that this great amalgamation was friendly.  They were a confederation of survivors embroiled in a great conflict between them and a terrible enemy.   It was assumed by them that the Vorlons were simply another race intent on destroying a common enemy.  They were surprised as Kosh's race didn't commit to their cause and chose to simply move on. 

The affairs of lesser beings were not their concern, but curiosity got the better of them, as they had nothing else better to do while their scientists search out the errors in the calculations.  They were too close to be denied their rightful place in the cradle of creation itself.

The Vorlons watched impassively as the fleet encountered and were summarily destroyed by a power that dwarfed anything seen since the last war, between the First Ones, five thousand years earlier.  The Vorlon Commander ordered several of his ships to observe the battle, however the observers were swept up into the war.  A group of the enemy ships surprised them, using an unknown method of hyperspace faster than light propulsion.  

Several of the Vorlon people were captured interrogated and tortured. Only one Vorlon ship was known to have survived the resulting slaughter.  The FTL speed of the enemy ships was slower than jumpspace, but in several ways it was more efficient.  The Vorlons were still unfamiliar with the subtleties of jumpspace in this new reality and so were at a severe disadvantage.

The newcomers had been discovered, however Kosh's people didn't understand the full extent of their predicament.  Vorlon obsession lay elsewhere and it drove them to ruin. The weapons of the enemy were terrible in their power, able to penetrate Vorlon defensive screens with frightening ease.   Stunned, then enraged, the Vorlons fought back and defeated a small squadron of ships that had so completely caught the others off guard.  Vorlon weaponry was powerful, but hadn't been improved upon for millennia, because there hadn't been a need to do so; and that arrogance proved to be their undoing.  They found themselves outmatched by weapons and defensive technology that surpassed anything they'd ever experience.  The explorers were driven back to the gate, where it was discovered by the Ancient Enemy.  

In waves, they attacked without warning and dozens of Vorlon ships were destroyed before they even reacted to the threat.  Vorlon heavy destroyers had taken damage on scales unimagined by them, and were forced back or destroyed.  The battle raged for weeks before the Vorlons finally admitted defeat and began to retreat back into the gateway.   There were those who were willing to disable the gate and give their lives so that the rest could flee to safety. They had chosen not to destroy the gate in the new universe, assured in their minds that the enemy would be unable to repair the gate to full functionality.  It was too valuable to destroy and the consensus was that they would try to save the precious gate so that it could be used some other time and place when conditions were better. 

Once again, they underestimated the resolve and the intelligence of their new enemies.

According to history, the events that transpired next were unclear but the alternate gate wasn't disable or destroyed.  But it was altered, sending waves of telepathic transmission into the other gate that hadn't been yet closed.  His people had been so arrogant that they believed that the enemy didn't have the knowledge to make it through the home gate.  But to their chagrin, they once more found themselves in error.  

Kosh shuttered with memory.

The enemy slipped through before the gate could be properly shut down.  Telepathic waves captured a few of Kosh's people and together the brain-locked Vorlons and the enemy modified the home gate to enable that gate to increase their telepathic influences.  As the influence increased many of his people had been turned.  

Filled with a single resolve, the Vorlon race fought back with a collective intensity never before experienced by their people and they finally destroyed the  enemy, or pushed the alien invasion back thru the gateway before they could establish a solid foothold.  Millions of Vorlons had died in the process but the gate was shut down and the survivors hunted down and killed.  But the gate itself was never destroyed.  Some of his own people, still under the influence of the enemy managed, to steal the gate and abandon it into the currents and eddies hyperspace before they could be stopped.  So great was the shame and embarrassment of what they'd done and what was almost allowed to happen, that it was never spoken of, lest the other elder races derided them.  It was known only as the 'great mistake'.

One of so many…

***

"We are here," it whispered to him.  "We will feed and you will die know that you have failed like so many others."

"You will be stopped."  

These creatures were supremely territorial and once in this universe, they claimed all that was available to be in their grasps.  Nothing was safe anymore, not even the Rim.  

Why they had chosen to come to this universe took a few moments more to figure out.   In that other universe, the location of their homeworld lay at the edge of a spiral arm, surrounded by a great expanse over a hundred thousand light-years wide.  There were thousands and thousands of worlds within their reach but that reached was still limited by the great distances needed to get to the connection portion of the rest of the arm.   The enemy could travel no further but they could and did destroy the thousands of worlds that harbored alien life not their own.  They destroyed and procreated like some foul disease.  No inhabited system was safe from them and they had free reign until they met another power as aggressive and vile as they were.  The only good thing to come of this was that their enemy nearly stalemated them for a period of time.  That universe had its hands full, but that wasn't Kosh's concern.  The gate on this side was opened and they had found another way to spread forth-into this universe.        

This galaxy will be ours," the creature told him.  "We will propagate and we will survive.  The Imperixe will succumb; the Borg will not prevail.  Other life shall whither, as will yours.  Your great undertaking failed.  You've let us understand.  And now we are here. We will propagate among the young.  They will fail and they will die."

Kosh now had a name to go with the terror.  "Yonji-Sinhindrea," he hissed, before closing his mind to thing in the cell.

He needed to tell the others.

***


	23. Fear part 1

**_Chapter 21 _**

****

**_"Fear"- Part 1_**

**(One Side of the Coin)**

Earth:

Like any good politician, President Clark knew that good news traveled fast, but bad news traveled like lightning.  Now he literally shook in anticipation as he waited for the first reports that the Centauri homeworld had been struck.  Morden had given him his promise that the Centauri wouldn't be a problem anymore.  His Advance Destroyer Group would take the credit and his deteriorating political power base would start firming up.  Once that happened and the Centauri war finished, he would place all of his power to bear on _B5_ and get rid of them once and for all, before they became to great a threat.  Now if would only Charlotte would do her job at least one problem would be solved.  One less menace to worry about, he believed.  If she failed her mission he was sure that Sheridan wouldn't retaliate immediately.  He didn't have the strength to directly strike back-yet.  

For days, he and his most trusted staff had reviewed every frame of the Proxima III battle with particular attention focused on the _Enterprise_ and its squadron's activities.  The so-called _White Stars_ were interesting, looking very much like Minbari ships.  Fast and maneuverable, their weapons were frighteningly strong for something that size.  Each one was able to handle a Drakh destroyer one-on-one; something that an EA destroyer had extreme difficulty doing.  Plus the ships possessed some sort of shielding that helped to protect them from the savage counterstrikes from the Drakh vessels.  The resistance destroyers employed some sort of high-speed, high-yield missile attacks against enemy targets in which the results devastatingly effective.  Those missiles were not as strong as the Federation terror torpedoes, but they were very effective against the Drakh.  Those same ships possessed nonstandard energy weapons that analysis believed were precursors to the phased-energy weapons of the Federation.  The energy signature was very similar to the new weapons on the upgraded _Raneko_-class _Monsoon _gunboat fleet-one which was under the command of Captain Higgins-now patrolling Earth's solar system in place of the destroyers now being assigned to other postings.  Those gunboats with their new weaponry could stand up to a _Hyperion_ attack cruiser with ease.  The new polarized plating was inferior to that found on Higgins' stolen _Thunderbolt II, _as was the inertia gravity and the weapons tracking systems, because the computer control system hadn't yet been properly back-engineered; but still, it was a quantum leap forward for Earth's research and development.   Plus the EA now _had_ artificial gravity.   

The stolen _Thunderbolt's_ innovations helped to improve the EA fighter's offensive and defensive capability to the point that the Earth made analogs now beginning production were nearly on par with the dreaded Minbari Nial fighters.  Instead of a twelve to one kill rate of Nial to Starfury, it dropped to merely three to one.  Again back-engineering was the main culprit.  Higgins fighter's computer system was Federation, which in this case meant alien.  Some of the chips used by the combat computer, being duotronic in nature, were so advanced and so completely different, that Earth scientists were having trouble duplicating them.  Those chips went in a completely new direction, compared to EA technology.  But Research & Development were close to a breakthrough and more was being learned about those chips every day.   And it had the inherent advantage being easier to work with than the completely alien Shadow technology it quickly replaced.  And it was safer. 

The actions of the _Enterprise_ precipitated a mild uproar among his advisors and military staff.   Most of the ship's action was missed by the cameras recording the battle.  When on the move it was simply too fast to properly track.  The action picked up considerably when it defended itself against the four Drakh destroyers trying to destroy it.  The sheer power of the energy beams gutting the Drakh ship fueled Clark's lust for it.  It was power on a scale that he never dreamed of and he was obsessed with the need for power.  He wanted what Sheridan had, what should have been his and his alone.  Hungry eyes devoured scene after scene of the _Enterprise_as it flashed from view, disappeared and then just as suddenly reappeared next to his fleet after first traveling in the opposite direction in less than a second and a half.  The speed and potential of that small ship intoxicated the man.  It wasn't like shadow technology, so alien that he couldn't touch it, but it was something made by human hands and he wanted it so badly.  Then reality rushed in and he cursed.  It was Sheridan's and Clark feared and hated him for it. 

The president and his staff plotted for five hours.  In the end they came up with nothing. Disgusted, the President dismissed them all from his sight.  Alone, Morgan Clark started writing in his private diary.  His hands shook in frustration; he could barely write.  It was all so close yet he could feel it slipping away, like trying to hold water in shaky hands.   Or, like washing all of the blood from his hands not that he really cared about the blood. 

That was a means to an end.

-His ends.     

***

In his office, the central tele-view was always on and tuned to ICN.  There were several other monitors on simultaneously and he monitored them all intently.  One never knew when something subversive would pop up.   However there was one monitor he hated and that one was tuned to the BABCOM resistance channel.  His people couldn't jam it no matter how they tried.  They couldn't even stop it at the source.  There was something powerful feeding the station enough energy to once more humiliate Earth technology.  At first, it was naturally assumed that those interfering Feds were behind it all; after all they all but destroyed his relations wit Psi-Corps with that humiliating transmission.  But it was finally determined that it was coming from somewhere else.  The population was ordered to not to listen to that channel under threat of severe punishment, but that was a laughable exercise if there ever was one.  Even he allowed himself a slight smile when he had issued the orders.  Eventually, viewing the station had turned into an infatuation and constantly watching it caused his eyes to hurt because he was focused on the viewer while doing other things.  It was the harbinger of bad news and he didn't dare miss being out of the loop.

Clark controlled ICN but BARC gave out better and more detailed information because his people weren't controlling it.  It was like an addiction to him now and the way things went these days, he fully expected that he would hear of the Centauri strike on the BARC almost before he would receive EarthForce's report.

The story broke that next afternoon.

The first thing that caught his tired eyes was the actual sight of a shadow vessel holding station near _B5_.  It faced the _Enterprise_-literally dwarfing the Federation ships, yet he could almost feel the tension between the two ships as if they were living beings.  For an irrational instant, he thought this was a prelude to an attack, one that would rid him of those aggravations once and for all.   But then reality hit.  BARC was still on the air.  

"The mysterious aliens know only as the Shadows made a surprised visit to _Babylon Five_ yesterday and brought stunning information concerning a war brewing on the edges of known space," the woman on the monitor said.  He knew her to be Susan Ivanova, another one of Sheridan's higher echelon lackeys.

"The Shadows have been implicated by the majority of alien races as the behind-the-scene instigators of the barrage of wars, including the Earth civil wars, that have broken out within the last two years.  We have recordings of the conversation between the Shadows, Captain John Sheridan, and others who participated in the talks.  All of the talks are being broadcasted in their entirely to the ships and crews of EarthForce and the resistance and to anyone who wishes to view it. There will be no editing so that-issues- will not be confused."

Clark's hair would have stood on their ends, if he hadn't been sweating so hard.  He knew a setup when he heard one and this had all the makings.  Sheridan was making a direct connection between his relationship with the Shadows and the death of President Santiago.   He could see it coming but there was nothing he could do except to try to minimize the damage.  

The images shifted to the interior of the station and he for the first time he really saw the beings known as Shadows.  They were frightening creatures and even on the monitor their intelligence show through.  Were these the beings he had dealt with for so long?  

Yes.  

No wonder Morden never spoke much about his associates.  Clark cursed himself for a fool by allowing that man to seduce him.  He seethed for revenge. His mind was in such frenzy that he nearly missed the next portion of the report. 

"We have been attacked by a plague formulated by the Vorlonsss," one of the creatures said in translated English.  "The plague hasss come to dessstroy.  Many have fallen.  Unlesss you prepare, you will all die."

Then General Leftcourt was speaking.  "Who will die?" he asked.  

_Why did it have to be him?_ the President raged. 

"Everyone," came the answer.  

_"Why am I shaking," _Clark asked himself.  Surely he didn't believe any of this would affect his control, speaking of while he needed to call the riot police to rigorously enforce the rules against the disturbances he knew would come after this broadcast.

"Why should we believe you?" Sheridan yelled at the creature.  Clark could see that the man was furious.  "You have been starting wars, pitting one race against another, causing the deaths of millions, all in an attempt to prove your petty theories that your way is better than the Vorlons.  But now you've wiped them out and you're still manipulating us."

"You are wrong, Ssseeridan," the second creature hissed back.  "Sssurvival comesss through ssstrife…Cartagia, your Presssident and othersss were the catalysstsss usssed to make you ssstronger."

The President of EarthGov froze.  "What had that creature just said?" he mumbled.  "Oh, no."

"Are you saying that Cartagia and Clark were involved with you?" Sheridan asked so loudly that the walls seemed to shake. 

Clark was sure that the volume had been raised and it took everything he had to keep from shooting the monitor with his personal firearm.  "You sssuspected thisss long ago, Ssheridan," the Shadow said for all to hear.

"…It's not just our mess.  It's yours, too.  My associates made sure of it," Morden now said.  "Clark owed us a favor, a big one," he continued, smiling confidently.   "Right now he's sending a fleet of ships to surprise attack Centauri Prime.  He expects that my associates will help him as they did on numerous occasions.  What they will find is something else."

"Why are you betraying Clark?"  Sheridan asked.

The President nearly choked.   Sheridan was so dead…

"His importance has diminished in light..."  

Clark was no longer listening.  He had been set up and betrayed, manipulated into fighting a war with creatures worse than the Shadows.  In his mind he imagined the scenario that must had occurred.  His forces must have encountered them.  There had to be a fight.  It was the almost the same thing that started the Minbari war. Now, there was no way he could keep this from being blown out of proportion.  To save their own necks, the Senators might be coming after him to remove him right now, if he didn't do something quick.  

He picked up his phone.  

"Get me General Hassan."  He needed to know what had happened before the whole galaxy saw it on the _Babylon_ resistance station first.  And if they dared complained against him, then he would remind them of the failsafe.

***

Centauri Prime:

Deep within a secured bunker, Cartagia and his staff huddled over reports and vid communications while above Centauri Prime's royal city burned.  There were ten million confirmed dead and the count rose with every hour, with an expected final tally of close to one hundred fifty million.   

"Who were they?"  Cartagia voice was quiet almost reserved as he poured over the magnitude of the destruction.  

For the perhaps thirtieth time, the answer came back as unknown.  The seven ships simply popped into Centauri space in the middle the battle fleet and started firing at everything within range. Within moments, several Centauri ships-of-the-line orbiting the planet were in ruins.  The element of surprise gone, the Centauri began to strike back at their unknown enemy, but their close range weapons were barely effective.  Two of the enemy warships fired some type of weapon that scorched space clean of all the launched_ Sentri _fighters vectoring in on them in addition to two _Vorchans _and one _Primus_.  It was like nothing anyone had seen before.  The energy blast continued on and struck its primary target, the royal city.   

They weren't Shadows.

From the reports received, the flash was barely noticeable.  But the effect!  The city and surrounding area seemed to melt before the witness's eyes.  Whatever hit them was especially dirty from all initial reports. His people were dying from some type of radiation poisoning to a radius of approximately two hundred fifty miles from the point of impact.  Then as suddenly as it began, the attack stopped and the enemy simply accelerated away and left.  No jump points were detected, but neither did they appear to enter light speed like the ships near _B5_.  

There were other, unauthorized alien ships in the area but they were also attacked and had apparently fled.  Fear gripped him for an instant as the full import of the report slapped him.  Unconfirmed reports indicated that they were EarthForce, modified with shadow-like armor ships.  They were there to attack Centauri Prime with a hit and run attack but were stopped when this mysterious new enemy attacked them as well.    

He felt abandoned, first by his people, then those incompetent military officers.  This should have never happened, not with the power at his fingertips.  Why did the Drakh leave and where were the Shadows?  Morden promised him victory.  And what happened to those ten ships that Morden had 'requested' to go to Z'ha'dum?  There were too many questions that needed to be answered.  He wasn't safe.  There was nowhere for him to go to escape, if that became necessary.   As the Humans said, there were too many bridges burned in between.

The whole situation was intolerable.  He could have very easily been killed and how would his ascension to godhood have been achieved then?  Cartagia had to get off Centauri Prime before the aliens came back with more ships to finish what they started.  His own forces, spread throughout the empire, had been inadequate to handle this new enemy.  They were loyal and courageous but his biggest and best warships, the pride of the Centauri fleet had been swatted around like toys.  The attackers knew this and if they returned in force… 

Protectorate Operations were scrambling, trying to determine who the aliens were and how they got into protected space without being detected.  It was eerily similar to what the Klingon ship had done on several occasions.  Eventually the hyperspace sensors were modified enough to detect those animals when their ship was in warp, but it underscored a theory that the military was circulating.  The form of propulsion that these new aliens used, were yet again different from either standard jump space or the newly discovered subspace techniques employed by the associates of the _Babylon_ station. 

"Re-enforce our defenses on all properties and colony worlds.  This may have been a random attack, or a probe on our defenses, which have been found wanting," he fumed.  Inwardly, he smiled at the way his Generals quaked at the sound of his voice.   

Several hours later another entered Centauri space.  It was jet-black, _Primus_ shaped and badly battered.  It produced a recognition signal and escorted to the nearest military base.  The Captain and crew of the lone surviving vessel of the Centauri expedition to Z'ha'dum reported directly to General Vida.

***

"You're speaking an untruth," Cartagia said.  "The report is a lie.  Z'ha'dum hasn't fallen.  I want to this Captain Treanir now."

The man was ushered into his Emperor's presence.  Strangely, he showed no fear in his leader's presence. " 

"Speak to me."

"At your order, we proceeded to Z'ha'dum where our ships were refitted with Shadow technology to balance out the advantage the humans had made in developing Shadow technology."

"I am aware of this," Cartagia whispered dangerously.  

The captain didn't seem to take the hint, or else he didn't care.   "These aliens are a terror, my Emperor.  They attacked Dum and now it is theirs.  The Shadows, Drakh and their allies, couldn't muster a proper defense in time.  Many of them were turned and fought against their own kind due to some kind of alien influence.  They're telepathic and many were subverted to their cause.  They stripped the secrets of those they had taken over and have attacked their planets.  I killed several of my own crew who were lost to these influences.  All of our ships but this one, were destroyed.  They are powerful and they have shields; screens like those of the Starfleeters.  Our ships fought back with the rest, but their weapons were too powerful.  We knew the battle was lost and all of us scattered.  But the creatures know where we are.  They are coming and they will kill all of those they feel are a threat.  They will destroy the strongest of us first and then everyone else.   Only they are worthy, and they are coming here."

"They've already been here."

"It must have been a scouting party.  We must come together and fight them or we will die."

"Do you dare dictate policy to me?"  His voice was low, dangerous.

The almost glassy-eyed Captain could have cared less apparently.   "My Lord," he said, trying again to get the point across once more   "They wiped out everything in their path.  Nothing could long stand against them for long.   We, all of our forces, were unprepared for such a sudden assault.  I witnessed Shadow vessels incinerated, their home world struck repeatedly with explosions that rivaled anything I could have imagined.  Our defenses were uncoordinated, ineffective against such power."

Cartagia nodded despite his anger.  "The Shadows are the most powerful race that has ever walked this universe," he said.  "They couldn't defend their own planet against a small invasion force that dared to  enter their _space_?  I find that difficult, captain," he murmured.  "I find that almost as difficult as trying to find a trace of amusement in your insolence."  He let the insinuation hang.  "What are you saying, Captain Treanir, is it?" he asked waving his hand slowly.  "The Shadows, gods that stride this universe, couldn't stand against this new group of aliens?"

The response was immediate.  "It took too long to destroy their larger warships and they overwhelmed everything that came against them.  Dozens of the enemy ships were destroyed and still, they came through the gate.  We all tried-"

But Cartagia wasn't listening, neither was his command staff

"Gate, what gate?" Vida demanded.  

"It's in the report," the Captain replied.  "They came through a device.   At first we thought it was a jump gate of some kind, but the energy readings were magnified beyond anything that I've ever seen.  My people were unable to determine if the gate, as we called it, allowed these beings access from distant part of the galaxy or even further."

"Do you have the recordings?"

"Yes," Treanir responded.  "All of our recordings have been made available."

"I'm relieved that you did something right," Cartagia snarled.  He was tired and this man irritated him. Let the military deal with this because he had other things to worry about.

"There is one more thing, my lord."

Cartagia sighed.  He really didn't like this Captain.

"The closer we were to the gate, the more I could feel them in my mind."  Cartagia watched as the man shivered at the thoughts.  "They're massing.  When they are ready, they may well be unstoppable."

Treanir's eyes were pulled towards the strange shuttle outside resting on the courtyard.  They reminded him of something.  Yes, it was the Klingon design that caught his attention.  But it looked far more elaborate.  "Is that a Klingon ship?"

"No," Cartagia told him.  "We have been told that it is one of the Vulcan shuttles onboard the _Enterprise _that has been spying on us. Their ship's power died and we caught them. It's such a fortunate gift. Our people will move it to a secured facility and we will tear it apart and discover for ourselves the secrets it possesses. The shields will be very useful and the weapons as well. We can study it and thereby become an even greater power in this universe. The crew is mine to do with as I will and I shall drain them of every bit of knowledge and one day they and their people shall drown in their blood.  No more will We have to bow down to the likes of the Minbari.  We will not need the Drakh anymore, the cowards."  Personally, We are surprised that the Drakh abandoned us in our time of need."

"Their forces are concentrated against this new enemy.  They will not be back to aid us."

Cartagia smiled at the captain.  "In a short while," he said pointing at the shuttle. "We won't need their help.  The Centauri will ride the wind to victory."

Treanir, like the others didn't respond.  There wouldn't be enough time and there was another enemy to contend with, knocking at the front door.

***


	24. Fear Part 2

Thank you everyone for your comments and critiques of TWS. I love the comments and reviews. It is my hope that you continue to enjoy the story. The Data-Robby portion of the story has just begun and will continue dramatically when the Sinhindrea began to screw up everything. I am not letting John off the hook with Anne and as for Delenn, her people are about encounter-resistance. As some people have noticed, I have stressed the human portion of this story over most of their alien counterparts. This has been done purposely but I will not be ignoring them either. It's essentially the point of view here.:

Now here is a point of interest from concerning this story on another website that you may find interesting,

_[QUOTE=mr friendly guy] During the war with the minbari, we don't really see that much of the EA as compared to when Clark was in power. Thus its hard to hate them that much. Sure I hate that incompetent captain who attacked the minbari ship, but I find it difficult to hate the EA and its citizens.   
  
Comment Two: Watching Clarke's regime, its very hard to feel sympathy for people who allow their own government (this is a democratic society, as opposed to say pre war iraq where ) to bomb civilians on Mars. Its also very hard to like a government and the society which supports it advocating racism. As Adams pointed out, it smacks of the Nazis._  
  
Albert speaks-  
  


All interesting points which we should continue to flesh out (helps me put perspective in the story) however we're missing a point here. Some of you (but not all as you are in countries that have not shown the series yet) have seen the series ST:Enterprise. One of the most interesting things was the Vulcans keeping Earth on a leash so to speak in exploration and getting among the stars and visiting. In the beginning of the series I was right there talking about the Vulcans like a dog for helming in mankind. As my wife says "you're were acting indignant in front of the TV again."  
  
I have now come to the conclusion that although they were heavy-handed, the Vulcans had a point. Earth ST is not EarthB5. The advantage that Earth (ST) had was that they developed their own FTL drives and had a little time to mature before they really start exploring deep space. Of course they did not like being held back, but that extra time really helped in the long run.  
  
EarthB5 was different. The Centauri gave them, a species trying to get to Jupiter within a reasonable period of time, jumptech and the next you know, they were exploring everywhere with the same military attitude we have in this country, which is okay for here good or bad, but not force deep space exploration. Senator Kinsey's of SG-1, attitude is exactly the wrong type of attitude to have while exploring new and more advanced species.   
  
EA beat the Dilgar (I believe it was them), their chests puffed up a little and the next thing you know, an ill-trained Captain fired on the Minbari and a massacre started.   
  
That is a major difference in training, diplomacy and politics-and maturity. But EA is out here now should not go back. There needs to be a policy change in EF (EarthForce) structure and protocols. Clark notwithstanding, was allowed to do what he did because the rest of the leadership let him-whether out of fear or agreement or whatever, it was their fault.   
  
The ministries of Peace and homeland security (oops, wrong quantum reality) and Justice were patterned after the more aggressive regimes we have here like the old KGB, the nazis, and the enforcers in a multitude of African, Asian and European dictatorships. It comes down to power. The man ordered Mars-Dome to be bombed and EF did it. After that things became easier. Now, it is my belief that the senate would have done nothing for the next ten years, especially when Clark would have hinted about his scorched earth policy. Sheridan did the correct thing, but like everything else there is a price attached to it.   
  
Now, I like EA but in the near future, in my story, Clark is making another terrible mistake. He is about to reject 'a request' from a increasingly desperate Morden  
to allow a Shadow base on Io for reasons I will go into later. Vengeance will be swift and vicious and it underscores a point that one person should not have absolute authority. The senate has had time to deal with him, harshly if necessary, but they waited for the 'right' time and now it is too late for the population. Why? Because I believe that people really hate change as a whole and we will wait as long as possible before they do something. Now he will STILL be in power when the Voy-B comes around

That's all for now. Throw your comments out and I will be answering them very likely in the review section. Please Enjoy. Albert

**_Chapter 22_**

**_"Fear"- part two_**__

**_(One Side of the Coin)_**

_Babylon Five:_

Captain John Adams's mouth stood open as he gaped through the large window in the observation deck at the sight before him. The phenomena know as the jump points were opening in front of the station everywhere. At least five dozen huge angelfish-shaped behemoths were coming through. 

"My God," he whispered. 

Altaira Morbius Adams held on to him even more closely as she watched the sight along with her husband. "They're beautiful," she said, and then frowned suddenly. They're not going to attack the station are they?"

"No. I believe the big ones are called _Sharlins. _They're Minbari Man-o-wars. I think the conflict here has just intensified."

"This is so strange," she said. The young woman was frightened. Her life had become so complicated. "I wish my father was here." 

Her husband held her closely. For most of her life she had never experienced more that two other humans around her and now there were humans galore and aliens as well. It had to be almost overwhelming for her. "Frankly, so do I. We could use some of his brainpower right about now." Her father was a genius, and Adams suspected that he would have loved it here. 

"Maybe we should leave this place."

"No, my dear. This is the safest place to be right now. We can't afford to be on our own right now."

Nearby, Captain Picard and Commander Riker watched the scene as well and both of then exchanged hooded looks. The Minbari were out for blood. However, observing the Minbari fleet wasn't the reason why they were there. Lieutenant Commander Data was having a talk with Robby and Captain's prerogative demanded that he witness this historic event. The two of them were so similar yet so completely different. Data was absolutely fascinated with the robot while Robby simply observed him as if he were just another individual. For a moment neither one said much to one another. Then the two of them began to speak and the people observing were torn between the scene outside and the one unfolding next to them.

To Robby, the Data android was the closest thing to a relative it had. Designating Data as a walking sentient computer did not quite describe the android appropriately. The entity possessed a gender, male, unlike itself. Although its voice was male, anything else related to sex was entirely without meaning. The Federation officer, although somewhat limited in his speech patterns, processed information as fast as it could. Although intelligent, he didn't come with emotion protocols whereas it had a full command its language skills and that worked perfectly fine. They were useful when communicating with organics. With them Robby could 'feel' exasperation, and satisfaction of jobs well done and of being allowed to fulfill its functions in new ways. It was as much a servant as Data was not. The android mimicked humanity in ways Robby would never understand. But it had been programmed to be content so it was. Those differences however, pleased the robot. It represented diversity, strengths and weaknesses and it looked forward for future interactions with its android kin.

Both artificial intelligences abandoned regular speech, relying on a complex series of beeps to more rapid communication. Currently both were discussing math, biological sciences and sentience, the sociological ramification of artificial intelligences on organic society and hyperspace, jumpspace, subspace, and warp physics. New languages were passed back and forth between the two. 

After fifteen minutes, they completed their initial talks. Now it was Robby's turn to ask questions. "You prefer to communicate vocally. Why, may I ask?"

Data tilted his head slightly. "I find that humanoid vocal intonations convey far more information than linear transfers of information. The almost infinite combinations of body language add details within the context of the message itself. Using speech, I have learned to use this body language to express myself better as I have no emotions to convey."

"I imagine you find that a convenience, Sir. As for myself, I'm limited in that aspect."

"I do not believe that is an accurate statement, Robby. I have seen you and your responses. You do have a form of body language that is most discernable."

But Robby's attention had now turned elsewhere. An audible clicking was heard as its servos activated and its scanners, not unlike radar dishes of old, began to rotate. Sir, there are sixty-one Capital ships and assorted support vessels exiting jumpspace. They are quite close, Sir.

"You can detect ships in jumpspace before they transition into normal space? Most interesting. Is your ability to detect objects in jumpspace due to your experiences in the hyperspace continuum? If that is true, then how do you process the corresponding asymmetrical distortions along a variable…" 

Susan's eyes grew the instant she realized what she was seeing. Over sixty Minbari _Sharlins_ and support craft had just entered _B5_ space. Other vessels were scrambling to get out of the way as one of the huge warships approached the station.

"_Babylon Five_ to approaching Minbari cruiser, state your intentions. Please respond." There was a touch of nervousness in her voice. The Minbari were allies but to have so many literally pop up on ones doorstep like this was downright scary to say at the least. Sheridan had been informed and was on his way to CnC.

The Minbari responded and Susan came face to face with Rannaonn, Captain and Commander of the Minbari fleet. The ship's gun ports were opened but not active, a sign of respect. The Captain was warrior class, in his mid-fifties and slightly heavyset. His eyes were almost white and the frown on his face was not pleasant at all. "Greetings _Babylon Five_," he said. "We are here to inform you that as the Drakh have seen fit to abandon the war, we are going to explain things to the Centauri Republic and show them the error of their ways."

A chill passed through every member of the CnC who heard the transmission. All of them remembered the Minbari-earth war and there was a moment of unified pity for the Centauri who were about be on the receiving end of the vengeful Minbari. 

Susan started to speak but was cut off by Sheridan who had just entered the room.

"This is John Sheridan of _Babylon Five_ to the Commander of the Minbari fleet. Is it your intention to wipe out the Centauri people as you planned to do to Earth?" he asked carefully. It was a subtle reminder.

The Minbari coldly regarded Sheridan for a moment. "It is not the business of humans to determine policy of the Minbari…Starkiller," the warrior added. "There is another threat on the horizon and we will not fight them and have the Centauri at our backs. We intend to do whatever is necessary to eliminate the threat the Centauri pose to the Minbari people and whatever is left we will leave to the Narn government to do with as they will. We are here because it is my government's wish to invite the members of EarthForce and the forces of _Babylon Five_ to witness righteous judgment on those to threaten the Minbari."

John thought about the number of dead he was so casually talking about and it sickened him. "Commander, have you received the reports from Delenn concerning the events at Z'ha'dum?"

"Yes, which is the very reason why we must deal with the Centauri first before dealing with these new enemies."

"She'll be back in two days with the full report," he said. "It might be prudent to wait for that report before you attack Centauri territories."

"It is too late for that," said Rannaonn. He could barely keep the scorn out of his voice. "It has already begun. Your people have been invited. Choose what you want to do, Sheridan."

"I can't speak for EarthForce," he responded. "I need to confer with members of EarthForce to see if they will do so. As for the forces of B5, we will send ships. This conflict must be ended once and for all." And with those words he felt sickened. He was condemning some poor crew to witness the slaughtering of a people. The Centauri deserved a lot but genocide wasn't one of them. True, the killed tens of millions of Narns but they didn't plan to eliminate the race. The Minbari had tendencies to do that. "We will contact you in one hour."

The commander nodded and contact was broken.

"The balloon is going up," Susan whispered in John's ear.

"Yes, it is," he answered slowly. "I'm going to talk to Londo."

  
  
Clark was shaking. Here was Morden, speaking to him on the Presidential line, asking of him a request that he could dare not refuse, but dare not consider. 

"You will do this Mr. President," Morden said slowly. "You have no choice. Everything that we have done for you has led up to this moment. My associates require your help and they want it immediately."

I will not do this," he pleaded. "I can't do this."

"We're not asking, we're telling. We want to move our ships to move into your solar system for a few weeks while we regroup. Our forces are coming from all over, gathering together. And the Sol system is the ideal place. This is where my associates want to come to."

"You can't be serious." He tried to keep the surprise from his voice as he understood that Morden and his associates were desperate. That revelation frightened him but the seeds of a plan began to form. "I sent my ships to Centauri Prime on your word only and your associates weren't there. My ships were nearly destroyed by some alien race I've never heard of. Your _'associates'_ betrayed me in front of the entire galaxy," he hissed. "You know my whole policy has been a stand against alien control of Earth and now you want me to allow a Shadow base in my backyard after what you've done to me?"  
  


"Yes," Morden answered immediately. "Everything that we've done has been for your benefit. Your powerbase, your Presidency, your control over the world has been because we've given you the means to do so. When you needed us, we've carried you and now you're going to reject us when we need your help," Morden's features darkened. "I don't think so, Mr. President."

"None of this has been done for my benefit," Clarke sneered as he became more confident. The Shadows were afraid that he might say no. That meant that they were desperate enough to deal. "You couldn't even get me control of _Babylon Five_ or place in my hands those Federation ships. It seemed to me as though you were actually afraid of them." Putting on his best political voice he said, "I've heard the rumors about the Shadows being evicted from of their own system and I know you tried to pull us into your little war. It didn't work," he lied. With his confidence building quickly he continued his tirade. "Your associates have lost power and they don't know what to do. They're running scared. I will not be dragged down with them by having those aliens come here and attack us like they did the Centauri. If you're not here, then they will have no reason to attack us."

"They're going to come anyway; we've made sure of that."

"You and you associates are nothing, Morden. You played me for a fool once, but not any more."

"We're not asking for much," Morden said. His features darkened and next to him the aliens phased into view. "But we _are_ asking."

"You powerbase is gone," came the reply. "Your associates have been hurt. If you try to force your way onto Earth, I will personally destroy it before I let you step foot on it." Then the man began smiling. Unless," he added, "you give me _Babylon Five_ now, complete with Sheridan's head on a platter." The stunned look on Morden's face was priceless and Clark's smile grew in proportion. "You see," he announced. "I am in control here. Give me your answer when you're ready."

President Clark cut the transmission. Let them think about that. 

He had done it. All ties were severed now. Charlotte had obviously betrayed him, which he kind of expected. He hoped that she would die while performing her duty but the minx still lived. She knew too much but it didn't matter now. He was on his own, as it should be. The failsafe was safely under his control. No one would take what was rightfully his without paying a terrible price. 

  
  
Rannaonn was irritated by the fact that he was here at _Babylon Five _in the first place. The element of surprise had been lost. The station had only two Centauri onboard; the rest had been kicked off the station by Sheridan because of the last attack on _Babylon Five_. But there were enough spies and informants among the other races to let the Centauri know that the Minbari were coming. The fleet should have bypassed this station and proceeded directly into Centauri space. But his orders were clear-in order to help to promote the good will between the humans of _Babylon Five_ invite the Earthers and the Starfleeters to witness Minbari justice. Personally, he hated the very idea, but he chose to submit to the will of the new 'and improved' Grey council. The old ways weren't good enough anymore. Delenn had changed everything. The Warrior Caste was being diminished, except in cases like now, when the warriors would shed their blood in order to keep the religious and worker castes safe. 'We are Grey' had little meaning now. But soon things would change, once the war was over. Then things that had been started would be completed. 

Again the Federation ships were the unknown quantity. Captain Sisko would accompany him on their campaign. The Commander grimaced. Neroon and some of the others may have been convinced of their sincerity; however, he and many of his clan-mates were not. Events have been moving too fast and too erratically for their taste. He was a warrior and would not shirk from his duty, but there were too many variables to consider for the long-term health of the Minbari people. When the Centauri were dealt with, there would be Earth to re-consider. Despite Delenn's beliefs, he and many others suspected that the balance of power in this part of the galaxy was changing and not for the good of the Minbari people. That would have to stop. 

Communications once more demanded his attention and he was even more irritated by the face that greeted him. "Ambassador," he said coldly. The Centauri called Londo looked as though he'd just dragged himself from the edge of the abyss. Obviously Sheridan had suggested to Londo that he plead for his people, not that it would do any good. This retribution was known to have been coming for a long time, but for 'Starkiller' to allow Londo to speak now bordered on insult. 

"I know what you plan to do," Londo said quickly. "My people are guilty of many things, and I know in my hearts that their punishment will be severe. But I implore you not to destroy my people. Many of the Centauri people are innocent and want nothing to do with the war that Cartagia has started."

"He is your leader," the Minbari Commander snarled. "He is responsible for your people and he along with is people will pay. The blood of thousands cries out for vengeance. The screams of the living demand retribution. Your people allied themselves with the Drakh. What more is there to be said?"

"There is much more to be said!" Londo screamed. "My people were fools to have started these wars in the first place, yes? That, I admit is true. We have done terrible things. I have done terrible things," he admitted and there were tears in his eyes. "But if you must punish someone then punish those responsible and spare those who wanted nothing to do with the wars. They should not be held responsible for acts that they had no control over. If they are, then we and your people have learned nothing. Punish the guilty, yes. Punish me in the place of the innocent. But I beg you not to destroy a world in retribution."

Rannaonn smile was predatory. "You would freely give yourself to us? I'm impressed, Ambassador. I didn't believe that your people hadn't had that kind of strength. You surprise me." And he was, not that it was going to make any difference in the end. But maybe because of this humble offer, just maybe the Minbari would not kill all of them. The lesson with the humans stained his mind. There was no real honor is slaughtering a defenseless people. However the Centauri were more powerful than the humans. They might put up a better fight he mused.

"My life is not important," Londo insisted. "But there is a bigger picture you must consider. A foul darkness has come into our universe. They are coming. I have looked into the abyss and I have seen evil."

Rannaonn was confused as he had no idea of what Londo was speaking of and apparently, it showed.

"There are aliens that have come into our universe from another space. They were in the process of defeating the Shadows and the Drakh-together. I fear that in order to defeat them we will need all of our forces combined if we are to have a chance."

The Minbari actually laughed. Yes, there was a threat, but the seriousness of the threat had yet to be determined.

Undeterred, Londo continued. "That is why I am willing to offer myself and if necessary, my government so that the universe can survive. That is why all of the ambassadors have left; to see for themselves if I what I said and seen was true."

The council had mentioned something about another power entering region, but it was just that-a rumor. "You would betray your own people." 

"To save them, yes," Londo insisted. "Captain, do you have any idea what is coming? No, you have not. I have seen it." 

There was something in his voice the Commander noticed…He probably would regret this, he thought.

An hour later, Londo and Vir were secured onboard the Minbari flagship, headed for Centauri Prime. With them were the USS Y_eager_ Major Edward Ryan's ship, the _Alexander _and the EA Omega_ Adelphi. _

They would be witnesses to the abyss.

  
  
Next: Tongue in cheek (a little lightheartedness before the coming dark). And exactly what's happening on the Ambassador that has got everyone onboard wanting to shoot (with prejudice) a certain aquatic, jailed Sinhindrea? 


	25. Tongue in Cheek

_Peliar Zel 2004-05-12 24 AnonymousKudos on the analysis of the EA! I've wondered if the EA wasn't an oblique warning about the United States. After all, fear of threats got us to permit the existence of Homeland Security and the Patriot Act in the first place, just as fear of alien influence put Clark and his ministries in power. I was wondering...would Deanna Troi meet Lady Morella, the Centauri prophetess and widow of Emperor Turhan? The actress was Majel Roddenberry, so her resemblance to Lwaxana Troi would throw our counselor off guard. _

_That was a good idea that I had not thought of with Lwaxana and Deanna. I might deal with that later on in the story. That is –if- Lady Morella survives the next couple of chapters…_

_I recommend tow stories right now: Final Flight by BobDL in the Home Battlestar Galactica section and 'Still not in Kansas' by Soladad in the Babylon 5 TV (crossover B5 and ST:Voyager) section. Both are very good and you should check it out when you have the chance. Talk to ya._

Have fun with this and remember not to take parts of this chapter too seriously.

**_ Chapter 23 _**

**_"Tongue in Cheek"_**

The _Zocalo_-nineteen hundred hours:

This had been one of the strangest weeks in Second Lieutenant David Corwin's time on _B5,_ and that was saying a _whole_ lot. His station had stood head to head with a Shadow force, whose representatives then came on the station. Those images coming from the conference room frightened him and the confirmation that Clark was really responsible from Santiago's death made his hair want to stand on their ends. The robot called 'Robby' was another strange experience. It looked somehow primitive; almost as if someone had tinker it together with spare parts whenever time had permitted. But what it could do proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was anything but primitive.

And where it came from simply made him shake his head in wonder. The owners were from yet another reality. It was getting to be a bit ridiculous and his head felt like it wanted to float away whenever he thought about it too much. When he got this job, he knew he would see wonders few other humans would ever see, but this was a bit much. Whatever; he reveled in it just the same.

He got up to leave when someone grabbed his shoulder and plopped him back down. Immediately David knew who it was. Only one person ever did that to him.

"Hi, Chris."

"That's Lieutenant Christopher Kelly to you," the man answered brightly. "I thought that I'd find you here."

"It's been along day, Corwin sighed. _More like a long week_, he thought.

"Of course it was," his friend said sympathetically. "Personally, I'm glad to be back on this old bucket of bolts. Don't misunderstand me," he added quickly. "I love my ship but after a period of time, it can get tiring. There's only so much room and you see the same people over and over again. This is like a breath of fresh air."

Chris' ship the _Alexander_ had just returned in time to see the Shadow vessels parked in orbit around _B5_. The Drazi mission had been a bust; a good thing, too. The Centauri would have been a handful, even with the battlegroup's enhanced weaponry.

"It's a great place to work, I'll admit," Corwin told his friend. "But sometimes, I just want to run away and let my mind go blank. You did hear about President Clark?"

Chris gave him a non-committed shrug. "Everybody heard," he said softly. "The balloon has gone up, David. People are taking sides and Earth is more divided than ever. If this had been the only thing, I don't think it would have made a difference. But when you take everything that has happened and you put it together..."

"I believe that the only thing that is keeping us from starting a full scale civil war is this fight with the Centauri and that's kind of petered out. And now we're on alert against another possible enemy."

Chris laughed heartily as the irony slapped him. "We live in strange times. Who would have believed it? A real alien menace, if we believed what the Ambassador said."

"The Captain believes him and so does Commander Ivanova," he responded. "That's good enough for me. Besides, I've seen a little too much recently."

"Enough of this," he said slapping his hand on the bar. He ordered a drink, the turned to his friend. "I want to know what happened between you and your date'."

Corwin knew the man was completely serious now. There would be no peace now if he didn't tell him. "As you know, before you left, I was approached."

Chris' response was a series of loud barking. "Approached?" he asked. That's a good word if I'd ever heard one."

Slightly angry and slightly embarrassed, his response came out more harshly than he had wanted it to. He concluded that he had been around Commander Ivanova too long. "It turned out better than I expected."

"Hurrmph," came Chris' retort. "What happened?" he repeated.

"Okay, okay. Knona came to the restaurant a little after nineteen hundred hours."

"What was she wearing?"

"Look, are you going to let me tell you or not?"

"Tell me, tell me!"

"Okay. She had on a blue jumper on. It looked like a cross between a pair of Federation pajamas and a hunting uniform. It was a nice fit."

"That good?"

"Yep. Her hair was combed and everything. Actually, she looked kind of nice in that 'warrior-I wanna-kill-you' kind of way. Her eyes were a deep green, you know."

"Why did she pick you? I mean, I thought Klingons hated humans."

"They don't like Federation humans," he corrected. "But all of them have been adjusting here at _B5_ and she's been volunteering on Captain Garret's ship for a while now. It was a cultural exchange initiated by Garrett to establish better relationships between their two cultures. Anyway she told me that she wanted to get to understand humans a little better. And I was the one she wanted to talk to in a more relaxed setting."

"Tell me another one," Chris smirked. "I will admit that she doesn't look as bad as some of the other ones, like the chick with the sharp teeth and muscles coming out of her nose."

"They're like us, Chris," David said patiently. "They come in all types just like we do. The people in her region don't have the prominent ridges as in other clans and in fact, they don't look as different from us as the Centauri."

In fact as they had talked that evening, he discovered one of the great secrets in Klingon society. He was sworn to secrecy under the penalty of a miserable death should he ever reveal what she had told him. To be perfectly honest, he didn't believe the tale she told him for an instant. But it was still entertaining and he learned a lot her and her people in the process.

A hundred or so years earlier, just before K'mpec came into power, most Klingons looked very similar to humans. They were so similar in fact that a few could actually pass for one-without a medical- if necessary. The Klingon empire was expanding everywhere in those days and the Federation was right there, interfering with that rightful expansion. This came to a head one day when the imperial cruiser Akomar visited a planet ripe for incorporation into the greater Empire. They beamed down onto the planet preparing to awe the populations; but the inhabitants there started screaming and begging for the Federation not to harm them. Her people were perplexed until they came upon the horrifying realization that the aliens thought that 'they' were humans coming to get them. When the report to back to the High Chancellor, he and the council raged for weeks at what they considered the ultimate humiliation.

"I've been insulted!" Knona had told him. Her ex-leader had repeated that phrase incessantly.

"Klingons did not look like humans! We are Klingons," became the catch phrase of the time.

Under his command, genetic specialists created a DNA mutagen, that changed the physical nature of all Klingons and the future children as well. Knona had admitted that Kaslok wasn't the most stable of leaders, and when he proposed the great change no one was caught by surprise. And no one said anything against him either, until it was far too late.

Unfortunately, the form he picked as the model from which all Klingons would forever look like, suffered from a rare bone deformity. For some reason, that appealed to his deranged mind. Once the airborne mutagen virus was released into the air, without the permission of the high council she added, Klingons lost hair and developed prominent ridges of various configurations. The more exposed they were, the more the ridges and skeletal structure changed. Their aggressive natures also increased dramatically. That was the upside. On the downside, thousands died from the mutagenic effects of the gene-altering virus.

The Klingon people were incensed and civil war broke out. Month's later when the fighting slowed and most of the people had recovered from the worst of the changes, K'mpec's faction removed Kaslok from power and K'mpec personally gutted him from head to groin, and threw the remains out an airlock towards the closest active volcano he could find. The body missed its target, but the people below, waiting to see the spectacle ripped what was left of the body apart and pounded it with enough stones to raise a small monument.

But the damage had been done and for decades, Starfleet humans constantly called them turtleheads. It was an obvious insult, but it had little meaning outside of Earth. K'mpec went on to become the longest Klingon leader to ever stay in power before he died of suspicious circumstances.

"We went to dinner, had some burnt fried bird wings…"

"Chicken?"

"Yes. The replicated stuff." He smiled at his friend's facial expression. Replicated food was the standard on the station these days. _B5_ was completely self sufficient, now. "She's trying to adapt and when I saw how hard she worked at it, I relaxed and went with the flow."

_Well,_ he thought. _It was better than those worm-snacks or peanut butter for that matter._ "So you had a nice dinner," Chris said. "Then what?"

"We walked around the station a bit. I asked a few questions. We almost got into a fight. Then-"

"Whoa," Chris almost yelled. Back up."

"Oh, you mean the fight?" he asked innocently. He shook his head and laughed. "I made a mistake. I asked her why was it that everything she said had a military connotation to it?"

Chris had noticed that about the Klingons also and nodded in agreement.

"She thought I was insulting her heritage. She was more surprised than mad but she was about to hit me, and I was trying to explain what I meant to her. Evidently it worked. She calmed downed.

"You think she'd be used to it by now," she told me. "The way humans think, I mean."

David slowly nodded. "She's one of those people that takes-time," he said. "Anyway everything was going fine until she started sniffing my palm."

His friend immediately smiled. _Finally!_ "Could you explain that?" he asked a little too coolly.

"She said she wanted to remember my scent," David answered. "Then she asked me if I was interested in poetry. I was surprised. I didn't think she would be interested in something like that. Then she told me that Klingon women enjoyed a good poem being spoken by the right person. Everything I could think of, I could tell she hated it. She wanted to hear about something with blood and guts."

"So, what did you do?"

"Honestly? My mind was a blank. Then I remembered the story of David and Goliath, grabbed a bible, found the story in 1 Samuel 17 and started reading about this who kid took out some oversized soldier with a slingshot, then cut off the soldier's head with is own sword. Then I continued and read to her how David's people slaughtered the offending army. Blood and death everywhere. God, she loved it."

Smiling broadly, Chris waited for him to continue.

"Then Knona picked up something, I don't know what it was, and threw it. And the next thing I know, I was flat on my back and she was on top of me growling," he said smiling.

"What happened!"

David yawned. "I'll have to tell you about that in the future. I'll talk to you later," he said to a stunned Chris. He patted his hand on Chris' shoulder and left.

A frustrated Chris watched him go. Then a slow smile crept across his face. "I'll get you for this David." Still smiling, he ordered another drink.

((((((((()))))))))

Marcus Cole was an excited man. Susan had said yes! They were going to have a real date! The man almost bounced when she came into the restaurant. He even dressed up for the occasion. No robes tonight! This called for a real suit!

The Epsilon Millennium café was the most exclusive restaurant on _Babylon 5_. The fact that it was a large holographic room run by Starfleet and _B5_ personnel mattered not at all. Every species in _B5_ came to this place. Even the carrion eaters had a special section that catered to their own particular desires. Special force fields and air filters were available so that other guests could dine in comfort without those unique smells interfering with their own sense of taste. Picard and his people needed a source of money besides the teaching classes and this little venture was very profitable and sported a serious waiting list.

The room today was patterned after an ultra exclusive, outdoors restaurant on some planet called Risa just after sunset. And as beautiful as the scenery was, Marcus never even noticed. The man's eyes were riveted on the woman who just came through the door. He tried to give the appearance of being relaxed, being in charge. He gave up. This vision of womanhood was his life. Marcus was a Ranger, the man in charge of protecting a rapidly healing Londo. That duty was now completed as Londo had gone, returning back to Centauri Prime onboard a Minbari warship. It was a bold move.

Being around Londo so much of the time was actually disturbing even for a Ranger. The Ambassador kept waking up at night, screaming about Z'ha'dum being destroyed and there being nowhere to run. The full details weren't clear but, Marcus really didn't like what little he did hear. But he pushed that back because he was too pre-occupied with Susan's seat. Old-fashioned? Yes.

Simply put Susan was his idea of the perfect woman. It wasn't that she was perfect, her temper being a good example of several undesirable traits he wished she didn't have. But she was the perfect woman for him. In his life, he couldn't ask for anything else because she possessed all the qualities that, for him a woman should have. There was no one else even close. So, he couldn't help himself. Even if Susan were an ogress, he'd still love with the same passion he had to constantly deny.

"Thank you for coming," he stammered. He knew it was a lousy first line but he couldn't help it. It was a miracle that she came in the first place he thought as he sat down next to her. What was that perfume she was wearing? It was something new. No, he wouldn't embarrass himself he thought by getting to close.

Susan was watching him with a mixture of amusement and irritation. She hated being the object of too much attention, especially from him. Therefore he had to say something quick before this date was ruined before it started. Anything business-related was out of the question if he could help it.

"I really expected you to turn me down and I was rather surprised that you decided to accept my invitation."

"Well, with everything that's been happening lately, I wasn't about to turn down a good meal. Besides, Stephan's been complaining that I need to gain a little weight. And on top of it all, I am so sick of that stupid Kobayashi Maru that anything is better than thinking about that stupid scenario. I owe her one."

Marcus would later swear that he had no reaction to her comment, although there must have been something because Susan's entire demeanor changed.

"I'm sorry," she quickly said. "I shouldn't have said that to you. You haven't done anything to have me to speak to you like this. It's an insult and disrespectful." She paused for a minute looking embarrassed. She got up and he knew what was about to happen.

"Please don't go, Susan," he implored.

She looked at him as though he were nuts. "I don't understand you, Marcus," she said. She wasn't moving off, but neither had she sat back down. "I have treated you like dirt and still you come back for more. You take everything I've thrown at you and you haven't complained. You're like a sic puppy I can't get rid of." To his relief, she sat back down. "Why do you even care?"

It was another insult, but he didn't mind. "You can't get rid of me by insults," he answered gently. Then, on impulse, he finished his answer in Minbari.

"What?" she asked astonished.

Marcus smile was devious. Her Minbari was still lousy and if she remembered any of the words, well, he'd worry about that later. Satisfied that he could still aggravate her, he answered her question. "It doesn't matter. When you understand Minbari, you'll understand."

Full of mirth, he watched his date try to figure out what he had said. She liked puzzles and it kept her interested, which is why he treated here the way he did. He needed to keep her interested. The waiter was coming and he quickly sipped his water before he would order.

"Is that true?" she asked astonished. "You really think I'm the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?"

Marcus never imagined that he would almost drown from a small sip of water. "How?" he blurted before the coughing completely took him. She didn't have a full understanding, let alone a command of the Minbari language yet.

She was too busy laughing to answer his question immediately. But when she did understood how deeply he'd put his foot into his mouth. "I have a sub-dermal implant that allows me to understand just about any language spoken on_ B5_. You didn't know because of your assignment."

With the waiter there and Marcus recovering from his near drowning, she ordered for them. The woman quickly left; the food would be there soon.

"Are you okay?" she asked, slightly amused at the look on his face.

"Yes," he choked. She was about to lay into him now. He just knew it.

"Good," she responded. "Because I wanted you to hear this." She turned as Michael and Deanna entered the restaurant and headed towards their table on the other side of the room. "I believe that was the most beautiful, wonderful thing anyone has ever said to me. You meant it and I know that. Thank you."

"I did mean it, " he said softly trying to ease his tension. This wasn't what he had planned. "I can't help it. I-"

"Marcus, let me say something first." He nodded and she continued. "I am sorry that I've treat so badly for so long. My past relationships haven't been the best and I confess that I've been frightened of getting involved with someone else. And you're so different. I want to use the word weird, but I promised to be polite," she added quickly. "You've asked for so little, just one kind word and I couldn't even give that to you. I was afraid of losing control. Then I've been grounded and I feel like I'm not making a difference."

"I heard about that. May I ask what happened?" he said as if he didn't really know.

"It details don't matter," she answered. "I simply got carried away and almost got my crew killed. Everybody from Captain Sheridan to Captain Garrett chewed me out, one way or another. That was bad enough, but then I had the dream."

That caught his attention. "What dream?" he asked.

"It was a crazy dream, actually. It made no sense, but I remember it so clearly. And it was the main reason why I agreed to come here."

"Sounds interesting," he prodded. Dreams were the windows to the soul Rolling her eyes in surrender, she relented. She had to tell someone, he realized.

"I know it's probably a result of the fight at Proxima III, but my dream took strange direction. Instead of fighting the Centauri, I was fighting the Clark's ShadowForce _Omegas_. I was enraged because they had a greater force than I had and they had prepared a trap for us and the resistance forces. They were demanding my surrender. I didn't care, and I started spouting poetry and attacked. Why, I don't remember, but I do remember that we won, but most of my crew had died and I was badly hurt. And you were there, smiling and saying everything was going to be all right. But you were going to do something terrible to keep that promise. You saved me, but I don't know how and then you were dying and I didn't get the chance to tell you."

"You think it was a premonition of some sort?" As she spoke he could feel the depths of her emotions raw and untainted. "It was probably nothing."

"It was probably nothing," she agreed. Her eyes didn't quite hide her doubts, however. "But I'm here now talking to you because of it. I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen. You would sacrifice everything for me. I know it."

"I would." He found he couldn't lie to her. Not now.

For a brief second something warred within her. She sighed. "Marcus, let's dance."

"Thought you'd never ask..."

"You do know how to dance, don't you?"

"I am Anla'shok," he answered. 'Rangers walk in the dark places. We can do everything and we're quick studies."

"That means you can't," Susan smirked. "But that's okay. If you can invite me on a date after how I've treated you, then I can teach you to dance."

"Lead on, wonderful lady," he answered, bowing deeply.

She grabbed his hand and led him towards the dancefloor. "My pleasure."

He forgot all about food.

((((((()))))))))

_Babylon Five _detention area_:_

"You had no right, John," Anne Sheridan told her ex-husband. "You locked me in a cell. Kept me from choosing what I wanted; and for what?"

"Whether you understand it or not, whether you agree to it or not, it doesn't matter," John answered her coldly. "I will not allow a member of Earth Alliance to be dragged off and used as breeding stock for an alien race, even if she is my ex-wife."

"We're not really divorced yet, John," Anne retorted. I'm not dead and therefore I am your wife by law, if not in spirit," she countered, pronouncing every word in excruciating detail. "The Shadows offered you a chance to get rid of me and I'm sure that Delenn would have been delighted to help pack my bags. But instead, I'm in jail. Why am I in jail, John?"

John's demeanor softened a little. "I can't let you go, not like this. They took everything from you, from us. I will not let them take your life." The look she gave John stunned him. She truly didn't understand. The emotional ties were really destroyed. "Your life is gone and I couldn't protect you," he said. "I will make sure that what you have left will be yours."

"And will you be part of what I have left?"

He sighed. "Anne, as with everything else, you'll have to start from scratch. You don't love me and what we had is long gone. At least I have the memories, but you don't even have that. But because of my memories, I promise that I will help you make some of your own." He turned away. "Your Shadows have run away and left you," he said, still facing away from her. "Now it's my turn to help give you a chance to build something for yourself. That's why you're in that cell."  
(((((((())))))))))

USS _Ambassador:_

Ensign Tumar felt a sudden twinge of guilt for the poor life form they were keeping prisoner. The Andorian security guard watched the poor alien move around its cell in a fury trying desperately to get out. "It must feel so alone trapped like some type of animal," he said to Ensign Sadat. "It's an intelligent being. Even the Captain has to know that if we can communicate with it, we can avert this war before it's too late."

Ensign Sato looked at her partner as though he was a stranger. "Excuse me, Mister 'I-want-to-wipe-out-the-Klingon–people-with–my-bare-hands'-Tumar of the Rishana clan? What is wrong with you? Look at it." Sato pointed it the screen. The creature had stopped its thrashing now and ceased its screeching. It was looking at the monitor-right at them. If evil had a form, it was this thing looking at them.

"It's beautiful," Tumar whispered. "A new life form we have never even conceived of. It should be freed."

Sato hit the panic button.

Castillo was on the comms instantly. "Report."

"I believe Ensign Tumars under the creature's influence," she said quickly. Just as quickly, she pulled out her phaser and trained it on Tumar who was slowly moving from the secured room towards the cell where the Sinhindrea was imprisoned. "Stop."

The Andorian ignored her at first. Then ever so slowly, he began drawing his weapon. "You shouldn't try stop this," he said.

"Sorry, Tumar."

She stunned him. Just as Commander Castillo and several security guards entered the holding room. Seeing the Ensign on the floor he was somewhat surprised. "What happened?"

"He was under some type of influence," she answered. "I had to…"

Inside the cell the creature went crazy. It slammed itself violently against the force shield and bounced back. Immediately, it slammed into the detention's force shield once more but this time, it generated another cybernetic arm and pierced the shield. The disruption shorted the power matrix, causing several thousand gallons of water to pour out of the cell.

"Get back!" Sato managed to scream before she found herself under water, being washed down the corridor. That's when she heard that scream of something completely inhuman splashing towards her.

Her phaser rifle was missing and her fear was extreme. Blindly reaching for her hand weapon, she lifted it up to fire trying frantically to defend against an attack she knew was coming…

Commander Richard Castillo heard Sato's high-pitched wail at the same time her phaser was fired point-blank into the prisoner. The corridor was brightly lit and he saw the whole thing unfold. One of the creature's tentacles wrapped around Sato's arm and ripped it from her shoulder with almost no effort all the while being bathed by her phaser's energy. He didn't remember the next few seconds after her arm came flying in his direction. He did remember the creature lifting itself with its six 'normal' arms and half-running half-swimming towards him, screaming hideously with the intent of ripping him apart. The creature was so loud that he and the others could barely think.

One guard had smashed into the emergency forcefield and had lost his own weapon in the confusion and swirling water. The other guard still retained his weapon and was firing at the Sinhindrea homing in on them. The creature seemed to take little notice of the grievous wounds it received. Castillo added his weapon's fire to the guard's.

-And kept firing.

"Emergency alert!"

Garrett was ordering the water to be transported out or the corridor. Sato was beamed directly into sickbay and the frantic operations to save the woman and reattach her arm. Dr. Selar started stabilizing the mutilated woman as soon as her patient completed beaming onto the diagnostic bed. Her team had their work cut out for them.

Castillo and the guards had survived the assault, but all of them were in sick bay, suffering for some type of neuropoison. The alien had secreted it into the water during the attack and it was sufficiently virulent enough to paralyze all of the humans on contact.

Little remained of the creature itself, only two small secondary tentacles that continued squirming until they were put into stasis. Both organelles reeked of toxin.

She was as angry as she had ever been. And beneath that was an underlying current of fear. Each time she choose to be merciful to someone, the deed came back to bite her. She was getting tired of it. "How did it break out of our detention cell?" Garrett demanded to know.

Sonya Gomez was the first to answer. "The creature is as much a cybernetic being as an organic creature. We believe it was able to analyze the frequency of our shield and apply enough power to disrupt it. The pressure of the water within the cell was enough to complete the rupture and short out the field. The corridor shields activated automatically to secure the prisoners and contain the water."

Security monitors picked up the action between the Sato and the alien. Sato had fired into her prisoner's mandibles just before the creature ripped her arm out from her socket. That act alone gave the observers an idea of how strong these creatures were. It was also an indication of how hard it was to kill these things. There was a momentary flicker of sadness as she realized that she would once again be responsible for taking life in this inevitable conflict. But she steeled herself and returned to the conference room and the anxious ambassadors.

"Ambassadors and gentlebeings," she said. "There has been an incident. If you would turn to you monitors, I will explain…"


	26. short chapter 24

Chapter 24  
  
The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Enemy  
  
I know that this is very short but I promise to make up for it. I am writing this now and they should be out by the 15-18 of June at the latest, and that includes the 'Ruinations' chapter. This will be a full chapter 24 with a different title and all. But for now, this is simply a morsel to  
chew on... Have fun  
  
It took a few moments for Jean-Luc to rub the tiredness from his eyes. The man was sleeping better and longer now as the stresses of the Klingon war finally began to slow fade like any good dream or nightmare should. This place, as violent, aggressive and politically convoluted as it was, gave him a sense of balance and independence upon his own instincts independent of Starfleet. He now relied on himself, the two other Captains and his officers. That was both exhilarating and frightening and with a start, the unpleasant realization came to him. In his heart he felt that they may well be marooned in this universe forever. As for his personal concerns, that didn't really bother his as much, but the fear was translated to his crew and those he was responsible for.  
  
His room was too bare he thought. There was very little of anything personal within it. Oh, there was a picture of his brother and family. Also there was the holo-image of his mother with the family home she stood in front of. And there was the recent addition of a single photo of Rachel in full dance mode at her hometown located somewhere in Washington state. He would have wished for a more dignified photo, but...  
  
He sighed. It was a lovely picture of her and it shown of her life and expectations in an earlier time when death was the exception and not the norm. His feelings for her were growing steadily, not because he wanted it this way but she kept grating on him, pulling him in directions that had no wish to go in. She praised him when he needed it-not that he wanted or expected it-and she berated him with equal passion. Sometimes his anger was so strong that he found himself laughing at the very intensity of it. She outranked him and never did she let him forget it. But she wasn't overbearing and they worked well together. Sisko was a revelation as well. His authoritative demeanor and ground force mentality blended nicely between the three of them. Although still a little wet behind-the-ears as Captain, Picard felt comfortable in assigning him missions. Riker was next. If they were to be stuck here, then it would probably mean that they would design more ships as the need would arise. If they were to develop a colony independent of the Humans and aliens present here, then it was a given that the colony would need protection. And the need to develop new vessels would be paramount. In all, it might be an interesting adventure.  
  
"Tea. Earl Grey, hot." The tea was soothing and he was once again delighted by the taste as the hot liquid went down.  
  
"Hello, old friend."  
  
Instantly, Picard's weapon was in his hand, pointed forward even as his eyes sought to find where the voice had originated. A moment later, he saw something that grew more distinct by the second.  
  
"Picard to security. Emergency." In front of him formed what appeared to be a man in flowing white clothing.  
  
"They can't hear you," the man said softly. "I've blocked the transmissions. You're quite isolated. There is a need for us to talk in private. I have news of grave importance for your ears alone."  
  
Picard didn't believe him and tried to contact security once more. Nothing. "Stay where you are. Who are you?"  
  
"I am called Q," the being answered. "I'm from your parent universe and I am power personified. Things are coming to a conclusion there and I possess information that you must have in order to make the proper decision."  
  
Picard was wary. The creature in front of him seemed too pleasant, too deceitful to trust. "Proper decision? What decision?"  
  
"Listen Jean-Luc. You were pulled into this universe by mistake and despite what you've heard; you can get back without any, shall we say, negative side effects." The being had the smile of a predator about to pounce. "The aliens that spoke to Sisko lied to him. They are a spiteful species that wishes to harm humanity and other species not under their control. They have foreseen your role in the restoration of your home universe and they are fearful of the outcome. They wish you and your people to say here. If Captain Sisko returns as they want him to, then the Prophets will control the destinies of Humanity and countless others. This is why only he was wanted."  
  
"Jean-Luc," the entity continued. "There is an inter-dimensional gate that has been opened and it leads to your home quantum universe. You and your people can use it to get home. However there is a problem."  
  
"What problem?"  
  
"This galaxy is doomed," Q said simply." The creatures entering this universe from our home universe will be an unstoppable wave. They will exterminate everything and nothing you do can stop it. Your only recourse is to return home and use what you have learned here to fight against the Klingons. Did you know that since you've been gone, Mar's has been destroyed? It is once again a lifeless planet and Earth and the Federation are suing for a peace that won't last six months. With your newfound knowledge of hyperspace, think of the advantage you and your allies would have! You could destroy the Klingon homeworld and never even be detected, never caught. You cannot help these people. They are already dead."  
  
Stunned, Picard slowly lowered his weapon. "If I were to believe you, if you are powerful enough to travel across parallel dimensions, then you should have the power to help these people surivie."  
  
"It is forbidden for me to interfere with the course of this reality. I can only save you and yours. Abandon these people. Save yourselves and your precious Federation before it is too late. By telling you the truth, I've now done all I can. The rest is up to you."  
  
Picard had a thousand questions but none of them would be answered as the entity slowly faded away. The room darkened, and then lightened. On impulse he tried his com-badge."  
  
"Picard to Security."  
  
"Security here."  
  
"Intruder alert."  
  
Immediately, red alert sounded.   
  
Guinan was wide awake before the klaxons began wailing. Something had violated this ship. The feeling was similar but something wasn't right. "Guinan to Picard."  
  
"Picard here."  
  
"Did something happen that I should be aware of?"  
  
There was a short hesitation as if he didn't know where to begin. "I was visited by an entity who called himself Q," he said finally.  
  
No, she thought furiously. It couldn't have been him.   
  
The being in white re-materialize near the Vorlon gate. Count Iblis seemed entertained with his actions to no end while watching another extra dimensional convoy pass by completely oblivious to his presence.  
  
"The foundation has been laid, Q." You have interfered with my dealings in one reality. Now, I take my revenge in another. All your plans and manipulations will be undone. 


	27. Chapter 25

**_The Candle and the Star in Infinite Diversity_**

****

**_Chapter 25_**

**_  "The One Side of the Coin"_******

**_(The Armageddon Conflict:)_**

Thanks to Raneko for the character of Commander Gerald Higgins and the details of his Earth Alliance modified _Monsoon_ gunboat.

I SERIOUSLY RECOMMENDT THAT YOU READ "The Search for V'ger" TO GET THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS STORY.

_Footnote in the History of the universe of _**_Babylon_****_ Five_**_:  Historians generally agree that in the early days of the Armageddon Conflict, President Clark's timing in preparing to destroy _Babylon Five_ once and for all came at a most fortuitous moment.  The gathering of the EarthForce's fleet in the Sol system essentially prevented the planet from being overrun by the Drakh.  It was believed that the Shadow plague that poisoned Earth was done as vengeful retaliation for __Clark__'s rejection of the Shadow's request.  Most historians also believed that the revelation of his involvement is what finally pushed him over the edge. _

_The latter part may have been true, but the discovery of __Clark__'s private diary turned the other theories on their collective ears.  According to __Clark__, the Shadow agent known only as a Mr. Morden, contacted him a few days before the attack to personally inform him what the Shadows planned to do to him and the Earth.  So the rumor that __Clark__ was intending to destroy _Babylon Five_ was just that, a rumor.  The Shadows Knew exactly how Clarke would respond to their threat. EarthForce was gathered at Sol system simply to protect him from his enemies, a fact that he kept secret at all costs. _

_ The second report that stunned everyone was that the Shadow plague wasn't primarily designed to exterminate humanity.  Instead, the plan behind its implementation was far more insidious.  With the invasion of the Sinhindrea and the subsequent defeats of the Shadow forces, they devised a plague that would cripple humanity and kill them slowly over a period of ten years.  Earth's gathered forces would be destroyed by the Drakh attack.  With Humanity weakened, the Terrors would easily defeat and consume them as was their pattern.  Therefore, Humanity was to be the vector in which to destroy the Sinhindrea without them ever knowing it until it was too late.  The plan had a good chance of success but events conspired against it, which was a good thing for mankind. _

**_Earth_**:

By the time Advanced Destroyer Group under command of Captain Jake Thompson exited through the Terran jumpgate, there was bedlam throughout the entire region.  A couple of days earlier, the Sol system had been visited by four vessels of unknown configuration and origin.  The unidentified vessels simply appeared near the rings of Saturn, kicking off dozens of security alarms throughout Earth Force detection units.  There was no jumpgate signature, but neither was there a warp signature characteristic of the Fed ships either.  That they would have recognized since rudimentary subspace sensors units were now in place.  Three were scout-like, fast-moving, grayish vessels that ran interference for a larger identical ship, very likely a recon vessel of some type.  All of those vessels avoided direct confrontation for the most part.  The only exception was near Earth's moon where a Star fury squadron managed to intercept and fire on the vessels.  The return fire was overwhelming, resulting in the destruction of nearly the entire group.  The ships then left the system using the same unknown form of FTL propulsion.     

**_Babylon_****_ Five:_**

Captain Sheridan woke up to a headache.  _Babylon Five_ was busier than ever, as refuges from something called the Kor-Lyon Republic had begun arriving.  First there was a single ship.  Eventually there would be thirty of them, survivors of an invasion by an unknown force that swarmed and destroyed their planetary system and captured millions of their population.  When the translators finally made since of the situation, Sheridan's blood ran cold.  Their Republic was situated within thirty light-years of Z'ha'dum.  The scant descriptions of the enemy ships corresponded to the information provided by Delenn's data. 

EarthForce was also acting skittish.  A private communiqué from EarthGov had sent most of the ships headed towards Earth.  Personally, he was glad that he didn't have to deal with the mess there.  On the other hand, there was a lot less EA loyalists to deal with next to his station.  Something was going down since his little broadcast.  How Clark would weasel out of that situation remained a mystery, but Sheridan would love to be a fly on the wall to see how he did it.  It was only a matter of time, and maybe that idea in the back of his head concerning invasion would be dead and buried.

But what was the most disturbing was the report that the Ross jumpgate had been destroyed.  That in itself was an act of war-terrorism, really- and that was one of the few things all of the races had an agreement on.  Everyone depended on jump-gates to move freely around the sectors and even in the worst conflicts; no one would even consider destroying one of them. 

When contact with the Leonis jumpgate had been lost, EarthForce sent two _Omegas,_ were already in the area, to investigate the situation.  Two jump-gates lost within Earth controlled territory caused reverberations throughout the entire EarthGov.  Sheridan requested that the _Enterprise_ and resistance EA vessel _Revere_ travel to the Leonis system to check out the situation.  If what he suspected was true then, they'd need the extra firepower and Picard agreed.  Also arriving there would be the explorer ship _Cortez_ still under the command of Jack Maynard.  If this were a simple malfunction, then the _Cortez_ would be the ship to deal with that.

The _Enterprise_ and the _Revere_entered the jumpgate and headed towards for Leonis at maximum acceleration.  

**_Z'ha'dum_**:

On the world so old that its original name had been lost to antiquity, its new name, Z'ha'dum invoked struck fear and loathing in the minds of countless sentients throughout the galaxy for thousands of years.  The whole galaxy knew of the name Z'ha'dum, but only a select few knew of its actual location.  Those few were allies of the ones called Shadows and the others who discovered the planet by mistake.  The homeworld of the Shadows was not their place of origin but it was still theirs nonetheless.  After their defeat a thousand years earlier, the elder beings congregated there to rest, recovering from their defeat by the hands of the Vorlons and their allies.  They had lost the great battle, but not the war.  On Z'ha'dum there was an opportunity to rest and recover from the enemy's relentless attacks against them.  Secreted away, the Shadows slept safe in the knowledge that their war would begin again at a time of their choosing. 

The communal hibernation was broken a thousand years later by an Earth exploration vessel.  Refreshed and re-energized, the Shadow aliens called their allies unto themselves and they were a power once more.  The Drakh were the most faithful and the most numerous, but there were other dark servants as well, that would have soon entered the battle for control of the galaxy.  At the call of Z'ha'dum, the servants would have stuck; however that call was never given, for the homeworld of the Vorlons had been shattered.   They were no longer a threat and the Shadows rejoiced.  The Minbari could not withstand the coming darkness and the other races were both too technologically and spiritually weak to put up much resistance without the backbone of the Vorlons to support them.   Now they would swept the galaxy and remake it in their image.

But at the very pinnacle of victory, something happened.  A chance discovery of a Vorlon artifact slammed the mouth of victory shut and opened wide the jaws of hell.  The Shadows found themselves battling an enemy older than they were and to their surprise, they lost the opening skirmishes for Z'ha'dum.  Things went downhill from there.  The Drakh abandoned their Centauri allies, returning to their master's homeworld to defend against those who dared to defy the Shadows.   Shadow fleets returning flushed from their victories at the Vorlon front threw themselves into the fray against the alien armada.  There was little coordination between the Shadows, the Drakh and their other allies.  Their only purpose was to stop the ones called Terrors from establishing a foothold in this reality.   That meant destroying the Vorlon's dimensional gate.  The battle raged for a month with neither side giving up or surrendering.  Both groups gave their all and the death toll was horrendous.  Three times the Terrors were nearly driven back to the gateway by sheer force of numbers but in the end, the Shadows lost.

Initially the two ancient races were closely matched in power and numbers; however, the Terrors had advantages that the Shadows could not compensate for.  The enemy possessed an energy field that protected their ships from Shadow weaponry.  The power required to break through those shields was enormous and took too much time; and that was disastrous for the Shadow defenses unused to responding against such alien defenses.  And the enemy used telepathy to coordinate their attacks and confuse their adversaries.  Shadow vessels under the influence turned to attack their own companions and that confusion ultimately lead to their defeat. 

At the end of the battle thousands of Shadow and allied vessels littered space for nearly two light-years in all directions.  The magnificent dark spires on Z'ha'dum were now melted puddles of unrecognizable scrap.  Z'ha'dum's cities suffered multiple plasma strikes from orbit and those strikes scoured the planet of life.  There was no one left alive except one…

Retreating to more distant sectors would only prolong the inevitable.  With the loss of Z'ha'dum, there was only one choice left available to them.  The Shadows would rendezvous and retreat towards the Rim-maybe.  For the first time, the race of Shadows were afraid, not of losing but of being exterminated.  And now the victory over their ancient rivals, the Vorlons, grew bitterer with each passing day.   Frantically, the Shadow s contacted their allies to warn them of the coming fire, so that they could defend themselves-or flee- as best they could.  The former inhabitants of Z'ha'dum decided not to help, as they considered their time in the galaxy finished.  Not lost to the Shadows was the irony was that _Babylon Five_, the one place where the Shadows had fought hard against to keep the younger races from uniting together, might shape up to be the one place where the last best hope for salvation for the younger races.       

Many Drakh soldiers were captured, but were quickly disposed of as their worth and information was considered of relatively little value.  Beings known as Shadow were not always killed outright in the battles.  Thousands were wounded in the defense of Z'ha'dum and a few were captured and allowed to live.  One Shadow lived long enough to transmit its findings to group mind. Before it was eaten, it retained enough of its sanity to telepathically warn the others of its kind.  In the final moments Xuadishse realized that it captors wanted him to do so.  And a part of him was indeed curious about his captors. So, he complied.

The Terrors originated from an aquatic, highly predatory world and their instincts had only grown as they extended themselves into their galaxy.  There was a very high tendency towards cannibalism, something that threatened their civilization.  With cold Intelligence and the survival of the species pushing them, they came upon their first civilization of sentients some ten light-years from their home.  The Terrors fell on them like a pack of animals.  Using the population as a food source, they were no longer had to cannibalize their own young, injured and weak.  As a people they began to grow in numbers and spread to other systems destroying or devouring everyone they came into contact with.  Their stellar neighbors didn't take kindly to this and bombed them back into the stone-age.  A mere three thousand years later, they came back, once again swarmed several systems and caused to repeat itself as they were again nearly bombed into extinction.  This occurred four times over a period of five hundred thousand years. 

But the stellar alliances made a critical error.  They should have wiped them out, but instead, they extended mercy by allowing a few of their enemies to live.  They didn't take into account the telepathic survivor's knowledge was passed from generation to generation.  The strongest survivor of the last conflict was one of the more paranoid of their species and it produced the largest surviving number of progeny.  Generational paranoia joined with extreme predatory instincts and race memories of their technological prowlness, to create a race of monsters.  As the older races in those sectors of the galaxy moved away or died out for one reason or another, the Terrors were forgotten and they grew strong.  Determined that never again would they suffer near extinction, they went from hunters to killers.  Once again in space, they smashed everything that dared defy them.  In a span of three hundred years, they had destroyed nearly two thousand inhabited worlds and lay siege to nearly two thousand more.  Anything not apparently useful to them was destroyed.  And nothing stood against them except the expanse- a large gap in their section of the spiral arm, devoid of anything, except empty space spanning almost ten thousand light years in all directions.  They were cut off from the main cluster, so they continued their attacks on targets of opportunity, turning their part of the galaxy into a sepulcher.

Its curiosity satisfied, the Shadow died screaming as it was eaten alive.

The creatures known as Sinhindrea prepared themselves for battles to come.  With the data taken from the Shadow, previous information was confirmed.  There was little that could stop them from establishing a presence in this universe.  The hated Vorlons were diminished, gone.  The other races were weakened and fighting amongst themselves. 

The place called _Babylon Five_, a space station were prominent in thoughts of the dead Shadow, but with the details provided, it was not considered a threat.  It had no significant defenses, no shielding and was considered little more than a meeting place for various races who barely got along with one another.  It was a low priority target.  But the Minbari were considered strong in this region of space.  The Centauri had ships protected by Shadow technology and as such were a primary target for culturing and extermination. Small expeditions into Centauri space confirmed that they were weak.

The Earth Alliance used Shadow technology, inferior in nature to either Shadow or Centauri designs but they still were associated with Shadows; therefore they were slated for culturing and destruction. The Narns were nothing.  The hated Vorlons had removed themselves from this area of space and the small Leagues would fall quickly.  The Hand, who were from this universe, were far away and not considered a threat to be dealt with yet, if they dared to show their faces.  The Old Ones, those who could be a threat were long gone and what remained were few in number and would be overwhelmed as required.   The Sinhindrea needed to spread out or die.  Hundreds of worlds were here and ripe for feeding the newly established colony.  The gate was open and protected, never to be closed again. 

In their portion of their galaxy, Yonji Sinhindrea reigned supreme over all and nothing could successfully oppose them.  In their universe, the separation of their domain from the rest of the Galaxy had them confined and isolated.  The T'kon Empire had been too far away to be a threat to them.  During the last great cleansing, the feared powers had again just about destroyed their species.  But they too were now long gone.  And as the Yonji climbed back the long road, regaining their ability to once again travel in space, it was discovered that the threat of the T'kon had long since vanished in that portion of the galaxy the lusted after.  But with their current level of technology, there was no way to get there.

Then, a hundred years ago, a distortion in space and time formed, a dimensional-hyperspace bridges connecting their portion of space to the core arm of what was called the Beta quadrant.  It was but one of several, created by the children of V'ger to get rid of unwanted interference.   It also other races at bay as well.

Three ships never before seen by Sinhindrea eyes emerged.  They were huge menacing, aberrations.  "We are the Borg," the vessel transmitted over communications.  "We will add your technological distinctiveness to our own.  You will service us."

Immediately understanding the threat these new vessels represented, Sinhindrea weapons vaporized the first cube.   But the second cube fought back and destroyed three Sinhindrea capital ships.  The Borg weapons had burned through the defensive screens and the Sinhindrea were destroyed.  But the Sinhindrea were an ancient species and they understood that this new enemy had adapted to their attacks.  They adjusted their own shielding and used their powerful ships to ram the Borg cubes.  Those ships penetrated the cube and shock troops swarmed into the Borg stronghold.  The telepathic attacks began to compromise Borg hive mind.  The Borg tried to assimilate but they failed.  The Sinhindrea were cybernetic organisms also and their resistance to Borg assimilation nanite technology was total.  With four times the strength of a combat drone, the shock troops destroyed everything in their paths.  The Borg killed hundreds of the aliens, but in the end, they acknowledged failure and defeat in this instance.  The self-destruct code was initiated and the cube destroyed itself taking several of the Sinhindrea ships with it.  The last cube, uninterested in continuing a conflict that would deter it from its primary mission, which was to secure the children, left by way of an unknown form of FTL.   But the shunt remained open. 

The Sinhindrea had not yet completed the conquests of their part of space, so they essentially ignored the shunt while they continued destroying hundreds of more species within their sphere of influence.  Finally they realized that they had performed their job too well.  There was nothing left but their own kind and soon cannibalism would rear its ugly head once more.  

Throughout the decades, many ships from different races had traversed through the shunts.  Most were damaged in one way, or another.  The Sinhindrea destroyed them all.  They began looking at the shunt.  An expedition went though.  It was disastrous.  A species called Imperixe swarmed over the ships and killed them all.  Their weapons were unusual and they also had shield technology.  Undeterred, the two fleets sent broke through the hastily created blockade that the Imperixe created, established a front and the war between the two powers began.  The Sinhindrea raw had the power, the Cionas, the sheer numbers.  The Sinhindrea used hyperspace drives while Imperixe used warp technology.  After ten years of fighting, the Ciona Imperixe were slowly being pushed back.  But here, in this new universe, there was the chance to start again, to grow and propagate.  And to do that they intended to destroy any threat in their paths.  All was going as planned. 

Then disaster struck, and Earth and the place called _Babylon Five_ required serious re-evaluation.   The Cloviens began their hunt.

**_Centauri_** **_Prime_**:

There was something happening at Centauri Prime that had caught that of his people and he was sent to investigate further.  Although none of the major powers were aware of it, the Technomages kept them all under surveillance.  Galen's Pinnance scoutship had little trouble tracking the Minbari fleet through jumpspace.  Their stealth technology was sufficient for their military needs. The Council of Technomages rejected this as inferior and developed their own stealth tech.  Technomages navigated in real-time and becoming lost in hyperspace to such as them was impossible.  And they had no need for hyperspace beacons because they understood the secrets of jumpspace travel.

Untruths had been told about the nature of jumpspace and none of the races, not even the Minbari had known of it.  The point was that they should have.  All it would have taken was the examination of two questions: at what point could one be deeper in jumpspace and how could one define the phrase deep into jumpspace' in the first place?  There were lies buried in misdirection, covered by genetic tampering.  His people had discovered the truth and even for them, those manipulations by the Vorlons had kept them from discovering other truths.  There were other forms of hyper drives available.  

What convinced Galen that the Starfleet ships were from another reality was their warp drive.  And there was the fact that they were at the edge of discovering the truth about jumpspace in less than nine month of being introduced to it.  But the real question that continued to elude his people was why had the Vorlons manipulated the younger races concerning jumpspace and other forms of FTL in the first place?

Now, tracking the _Yeager_ (and the other three ships)was a different matter altogether.  It used warp drive; there was no way his ship could keep up with it from jumpspace-if it wasn't for the little tracking spell he'd slipped on it.  It was an amazing little piece of technology that he had just about figured out without violating his promise to Guinan.  That would be a boon for his people when they understood the principles and practical applications.  No longer would his people be depended only on hyperspace for faster than light travel. The transporters were interesting as well. True the mages had the secret of transporter technology but the Feds used a different approach and he was always one for learning new tricks.

The acquiring of those technologies could have been achieved a long time ago if it hadn't been for Guinan.  How she continued to thwart his spells were as intriguing as they were infuriating.  That promise he made was a mistake, not to steal Federation technology without her permission.  What was he thinking?  A second later, he understood exactly what he was thinking.  The woman was more than what she seemed.  Guinan was power, the type you didn't want to mess with.  Therefore he didn't, and rationalized it as professional courtesy.   Besides, there were other things of interest at _B5, _as in a certain robot from another reality.  That would come later. 

Galen's exit from jumpspace went undetected.  He was immediately struck by what he saw Centauri Prime was an armed camp and the reason was obvious.  Several fires could be seen from orbit.  Radiation profiles were very specific but the type of weapons used couldn't be determined.  Someone other than the usual powers had attacked recently and from all of the reports from his people he knew who they might be.  Civilian and military channels were flooded with information.-over sixty million dead and another forty million injured by the initial attack.  With those kinds of causalities, the Centauri could not afford to continue making war against their neighbors.  As he looked at the causalities, Galen felt a profound sense of loss for all those who had been needlessly killed.  But now wasn't the time for sentimentality.

"Filter out the civilian channels," he ordered his ship's computer.  "I want to see the ships that attacked Centauri Prime."

Obediently, the computer complied and quickly produced several holographic images of several ships of unknown configuration.  Galen studied the images intently, trying to divine the purposes of the various structures on the larger ships.  They looked evil.  The smaller ones appeared vaguely organic, or at least the front half did.  The back half, the engine compartments and thrusters appeared relatively typical.  Analyzing replays of the attack, extracted from the military communications revealed something remarkable. These aliens used a third form of FTL propulsion.  For a second he was nearly intoxicated by the possibilities, however he focused on the task at hand.

Undetected, his ship slipped into the planet's atmosphere, headed towards the imperial city, or what was left of it.  Once the city was something beautiful but now it was a smoking ruin.  He continued on.  What he was searching for wasn't here.  Scanners confirmed this and slowly he widened the search area.  Ten minutes into the search the computer signaled for his attention.  There, one hundred miles south by southwest. 

At twenty miles, Galen saw what he was looking for.  The stealth vessel landed in a fairly dense area of woods.  He dared not go any further.  Centauri patrol ships were patrolling the area and even he couldn't evade them and the security sweeps circulating in the region.   His vessel secured, his image shifted to that of a Centauri Captain, high enough to get things done but low enough to avoid serious scrutiny.   He headed towards the palace.

Dozens of Sharlins, along with support craft and hundreds of fighters of the Minbari Federation bypassed several Centauri Military strongholds and entered normal space less than three A.U. from Centauri Prime.  They had met no resistance and now, the proceeded directly towards the homeworld.  Hundreds of Centauri warships were in front of them but made no move to attack.  Their weapons were active but none were targeting the oncoming ships.

Rannaonn, Captain of the _Blood of Saints_ and the Commander of the Minbari fleet was faced with a quandary.  The blood of millions of his people screamed for vengeance. He expected a fight, but none was being offered.  The Centauri were allied with the enemy however, they weren't attacking and there was no record of them ever attacking any Minbari.  But his heart was divided.  As he observed the planet he could see several of their cities had already been destroyed, millions already dead or dying.  That little fact should not have mattered. 

The there were others here from B5,  EarthForce and those Federation humans and even the Narn, watching to see Minbari justice in action.  They were witnesses that would judge what the Minbari did here for a thousand years.  Rage filled the Minbari during the War of Vengeance against Earth and that rage would have destroyed a world and all of the people.  Rage filled him now once more.  He was a warrior.

But he had learned.

"The fleet is to remain at station," he ordered.  He would wait a short while and if they attacked, he would kill them all.  The choice would be up to them.   

Never let it be said that Galen didn't have a sense of humor.  In the Federation database there was a species called the Kronjye, antlike creatures with big humanoid eyes, whose image he now put to good use.  One third meter long, carrying large guns, these holographic nightmares, running and chasing the guards did their job splendidly. 

Already panicked by the recent attacks, these holographic projections were assumed to be the enemy.  A few explosives placed in convenient places, nerve agents to paralyze the people and the illusion was complete.  The result was uproar in the lower palace where the prisoners were located.

****

**_Earthspace_**:

Onboard the EA _Hammermill_ , patrolling the outer edge of Sol system on orders from President Clark, Colonel Griffin stood behind the ship's Captain staring blankly at open space.  All of those conversations with Sheridan and Brindley had struck home.   Clarke, he didn't even want to use his title, literally held the world at ransom.  The world knew of the deal he had made with the shadows and there was rioting in the streets. 

The attempted coupe had failed miserably.  When the Senate had tried to arrest them he reminded them that his hand was on the trigger.  He alone had the codes to Earth's orbital defense platform and had made it clear that he would use maximum force to maintain control.  Everyone in EarthForce had known what that meant.  The Senators who finally developed some sort of spine were arrested and put in prison.  EarthForce was in an uproar. EarthGov was in an uproar.   Everyone was in an uproar.  Clark's days were numbered but he would hold on to every last second.  However the order for two EarthForce fleets, by him, to return to Sol had baffled everyone.  He had mumbled about a secret attack by the Centauri but no one believed anything he said anymore.  Due to the recent revelations from _Babylon Five_ there, generated another, separate rebellion among EarthForce crews.

Several of the _Hyperions_ and _Omegas_ command staff had been busy.  There was going to be a concerted effort to take out the orbiting platforms.  These defense platforms if turned against Earth, could conceivably scorch forty percent of the planet.  And to a man, they all turned towards him for leadership.  This came as a slight shock, a man who had never really expressed his opinions to anyone outside a small circle of close friends and officers.  But many regarded Griffin as an honorable, as well as capable officer.  The stain of Brindley's political disfavor had not rubbed off on him.  Hazel eyes blazing, he resolved to do something about the situation now.  Sheridan and griffin weren't the only threat facing Clark now. 

Jake Thompson, Commander of the Advanced Destroyer Group or ADG, an unwavering, stanch supporter of Clark and his ideals wasn't overly pleased with the revelations from _B5_ and the fact that Clark had directed several of the G.O.D's platforms at Earth.   A stanch loyalist to his soul, he voiced his objection to Clark's moves loudly in light of the threats that he'd just experienced while at Centauri Prime.  But the question was what would Thompson and his group do if Griffin implemented his plan? 

What the Colonel and the others didn't know was that question was about to become a moot point.

****

**_Centauri Prime_**:

What was that noise? 

It had been ten days-as far as Sela could tell.  For ten days, she remained inside a blackened, windowless, damp cell; enduring continuous sessions of torture from the Centauri guards under the watchful eyes of their mad leader.  He truly was mad, she knew.  His mood swings, paranoia and manic-depressive-explosive rages were much too consistent to be any type of act.  His own people were too frightened of him for it not to be an act.  His dribble and constant babblings about godhood was almost as bad as the torture itself.   And the sad truth was that both would get worse as time went by because Romulans didn't talk and there was nothing that these pathetic creatures could do to make them. 

S'hnula, with her broken leg and multiple contusions had laughed in the Emperor's face when he had asked her to give him the command codes for their shuttle.  She was rewarded with an immediate beheading.  She'd done her duty, but Sela was saddened by it.  S'hnula had been a good companion and hadn't even considered Sela's mixed heritage a problem in light of the current Cylon crisis.   The small group of Romulans couldn't afford another loss, but at the same time they had no intentions of explaining anything about the shuttle to these creatures. 

The torture had been dreadful.  Being the leader, she had suffered the tender mercies of this world's leader first and foremost.  Three fractured ribs, four broken bones, three missing teeth, a damaged eye, a destroyed eardrum and loss of blood hadn't humbled her.  And she knew that her teammates, even the maddened T'wyn, hadn't broken.  Then the psychic scans began.  They were the worse, but again these people misjudged Romulans.  Sela's mental shields were as were T'wyn's a product of Tal Shiar training.  And Tarok was a senator and his natural shields would allow nothing to penetrate.  Frustrated the telepaths redoubled their efforts, but it was useless.  Their Emperor had them executed as well.   Romulan technology was safe for now, but how long that would last was anyone's guess.

The amazing thing was that subspace technology was completely foreign to them.  These people had no concept of subspace technology!  That was one of the first of many surprising discoveries, especially when they nearly blew up the shuttle playing around with the engine's core computer.  Evidently someone was smart enough to understand a countdown when they heard it.  However someone else wasn't as smart when they played with a disruptor, accidentally setting it to overload.  The explosion took out much of their science building.   Even through the pain, Sela managed to laugh at that.  That was also the fact that Romulan technology as a whole was so unfamiliar to them that it would take months, even years before they could even begin to understand the basics without help.  They required a translation matrix, something that she and the others refused to give them.   The translator devices had began working again so they understood the Centauri language, but since their enemies didn't speak Romulan standard it didn't help them.  On the other hand the Romulans learned a lot about their captors.  They were at war with some called the Narn and also with the forces of Earth.  Must have been a short war, she mused.  Even with the Cylon war going on, it must have been a massacre, which may have explained why there were so many warships packed into their system. 

All of that was of course speculation on Sela's part.  She really didn't know where she was.  Q had made sure of that. But that gave her comfort because she and her crew had endured his little test.  They could handle torture and stress, better than humanity.  _Dance indeed_, she snarled.  The Romulan people were never weak like humans and that's why she and the others had survived his little experiment.  Even if she died, she could go to the grave assured of Romulan superiority.

Again there was a noise, more defined this time.  It was the sound of several bodies dropping to the floor.  Cautiously she backed away from her cell.  Even in the dark, her good eye was well enough to detect the dark, purplish mist that seeped under the door.  She backed up further when the mist began to eat the metallic structure.   Within seconds, the door was gone.  A man dressed in black stepped the door, drank in her body carefully and then signaled for them to leave. 

She hesitated for less than second before walking out of her cell as best she could.  T'wlyn and Tarok were with him, each armed with a Centauri weapon.  Around them were several unconscious Centauri guards.  Surprised, but pleased, she picked up a formidable looking rifle, and pointed in the general direction of her savior.  "Who are you, human?" she demanded to know.

"Who I am is of no importance," the man answered.  I am here to help you leave this dreary place, unless of course you wish to stay?"

She really hadn't expected an answer to her question, but the man spoke Federation standard, although with an unusual accent.  She didn't know whether to be happy or furious.  The Federation again had come to Romulan aid. 

This planet is about to come under attack by people who really have a distaste for the Centauri," the man continued as they moved down the hallway. 

Everywhere she looked within this prison, there were unconscious guards draped on the floor. The surveillance cameras and security devices were inoperative and the doors were opened.  She wondered how he managed all of that. 

 "It would be best if we were not here when that happened."  Galen locked onto here with is strange almost alien gaze.

"I agree.   How do you plan to get us out?"

"I don't plan to," he answered.  "Someone else will take care of that for us."  He stopped at another cell went in and saw a female prisoner unconscious on her cot.  Quickly he mumbled something and the female awaken.  Startled she started to fight back until she saw that he wasn't Centauri. The female began to cry.

"Na'Toth," he whispered.  "You're needed."

"What are you?" T'wlyn asked the man who had so far not given his name.  "Section Thirty-one?"  Only a few of the Tal Shiar knew of that organization and both he and Sela were aware of it.

"No," Galen answered.  "I believe my group is more exclusive than anything that you are aware of."  Quickly he changed the subject.  "How did you know that I was human," he asked Sela.

"Only humans would attempt such a foolhardy rescue like this."

It came as not surprise to Sela and the others was the fact that they were in a palace dungeon of some sort instead of a real prison.    There were times when they were out in the open for all to see, but the people scurrying about were far less interested in aliens walking around than what was happening in orbit.  They were waiting for another attack.  That didn't matter.  What did matter was the shuttle and its secrets.  She determined that the secrets there would never see the light of day on this planet.  No matter what the cost.

Cartagia cringed with the command center when he saw the Minbari, accompanied by EarthForce ships and even one of the federation vessels converging on Centauri Prime.  To his everlasting hatred, his forces hadn't begun firing on the intruders yet.   What was wrong with them?  Didn't they understand that the Minbari were coming to kill him?

"Give the order to fire," he told the Supreme General.

"Sir," the Supreme-General said very carefully.  "Our people are hesitant to begin a conflict with them.  We are not officially at war with them.  An alien force with firepower that surpasses the Minbari fleet that approaches us even now has attacked us.  The man began to sweat as his Emperor's gaze burned through him.  "It may be advantageous for us to consider negotiating for peace, so that we may have time to defend against the true enemy."

Cartagia in a rage pulled out his knife and stabbed the offender.  Blood dripping from the blade he turned his murderous rage towards the rest of the staff.  "My ascension to godhood has not been completed yet," he screamed.  "The Minbari may agree to negotiate for peace but their price will be Our head!   We will not be subjected to such an injustice by those who should grovel at Our feet.  As Emperor, We demand that our people expend out dying breaths defending Us and our planet form these aliens."  He turned to the next in line.  "Centauri Prime cannot endure the humility of surrender to such as them.  I demand that you give the order to fire, or you shall join your superior in death."  Besides him, three of the Emperor's personal guards moved into position and pointed weapons directly at the officer.

At that moment, a young officer chose to announce more unpleasant news.

"My Lord Cartagia, the prisoners have escaped."

The Centauri leader seemed to fall back.   "They can't have gone far," he moaned. "Find them!"  Completely forgetting his last order, he rushed towards his prize to make sure it was secure.

The relieved military officers watched one another nervously, waiting for someone to make the first move.  Eventually someone did and a single order was issued to the Fleet.

It was plain and simple.

-Do absolutely nothing.

**_Babylon_****_ Five:_**

Nichols hated being stuck on duty while everyone else enjoyed themselves inside the station. He and a few others were still making final adjustments to the hyperdrive system of the ship.  As small as their ship was, the United Planet Cruiser _C57-D's_ energy source was three times more than any EarthForce ship.  UPC space ships used shredded ion energy as their power source, necessary because of the huge amounts of power required to run the hyperdrive engines.  Their FTL was much slower in comparison, but with the influx of information recently discovered about jumpspace and its relationship to hyperspace, that had changed.  With their sensor scans and data about jumpspace, they were able to modify their ship's engines to attain speeds of nearly three thousand times the speed of light instead of the original four.  An engineering exchange with the _Ambassador_ gave them inertia compensators far superior than what they possessed.  

Now, deceleration point stasis stations were no longer needed when transitioning from hyperspace to normal space.  All of that excess energy from the twin power plants were used to significantly boost the structural integrity fields to withstand the new stress of high-speed hyperspace travel and to power the blasters.  And now the structural fields could be used as true defensive shields for protection.  Needed materials created by Robby made the job easier, and all in all, Nichols believed that his little ship could stand toe to toe with just about anything he's seen in this universe so far, no matter the size.  But hopefully they'd never had to test it.    

-Which is why he was so uncomfortable now.

The klystron hyperspace scanner had activated automatically, as it was supposed to when evidence of hyperspace travel was detected.  The surprised Lindstrom had called Nichols to the bridge to confirm what he was seeing. 

"I picked this up about a half hour ago when I was still calibrating the system.  That's when I discovered those," he said pointing to the scope.  "I thought it was a glitch and I double checked.  There are several signals, Sir.  One is on a direct course to the Centauri system where the Minbari fleet was headed and a smaller signal is heading in our general direction.  They're both traveling relatively slow but the larger one, well, they're almost on top of the Centauri sector.   Then there is this third one, about ten light years over here in grid four sector.  It's like they're following something."

 "Isn't that where they lost the jumpgate?"   Lindstrom shook his head.  "Contact the skipper." 

A swirl of light and flash of red marked the entrance of_ Blue Nova,_ the _Ambassador_ and the EA _Paphos.  _The_ Paphos_ moved slowly towards the Loyalist group stationed near _B5_ and immediately began her report.  Sheridan was there at C & C waiting for the others.  A now familiar hum enveloped the room and General Brindley, Captain Garrett, Delenn and Neroon, materialized in front of him.  The looks on their faces told him all he needed to know.  Quickly he led them to a secured room.  Garibaldi was there and few others.  Susan entered a few minutes later, having rushed from grey sector to deal with problems there.  She gave Garrett a relatively dirty look, to which Garrett returned a sweet, devious smile of their own.  It was so completely innocent that it reeked of deceit.

Delenn never noticed the little exchange.   "It's worst than we thought," the Minbari said to all of them present.  "I am confirming all of our reports.  "Z'ha'dum has fallen to a species known as the Yonji Sinhindrea.  These aliens are the ones that the Vorlons  fought millions of years ago."

Rachael smirked at that comment a bit but said nothing.  As Guinan said, _'Vorlon truths needed to be taken with a grain of salt'_. 

 "Their power is unbelievable," she continued.  "We will need all of the resources from every world to defend ourselves against them.  You know they nearly destroyed the Vorlons and they are no longer here to fight against them.  The Shadows are defeated.  We only have ourselves and we must be ready.  On that point all of the ambassadors agree.  Even Kosh will implore his people to turn away from the Rim and join us in this fight."

"And to that end," Rachel added, "I have been in contact with Captains Picard and Sisko.  We agree that this threat to great to ignore.  If our information from Ambassador Kosh is accurate, they will come for us-all of us.  Therefore, I formally offer the construction and use of full shield generators to protect _Babylon Five_.  Estimated completion time would be one week.  This will increase _B5's_ survivability by sixty percent over the polarized plating.   In addition we also offer four auto-command defense platform satellites to assist in _B5's_ defenses.  This will be under your direct supervision Captain Sheridan, as per our agreement with exchanges of technology."

The smile on his face was palpable, but the seriousness of the situation had also hit home.  "A lot's happened since you left.  I have information concerning the Shadows and President Clark…"

**_Centauri_** **_Prime_**:

For an hour Galen and his entourage made their way to the secured shuttle. Hidden inside a small maintenance room, Galen activated a sound suppression spell.  The Romulans were more than a little impressed with the Technomage's stealth skills and confidence in working his way around the palace guards with injured people in tow. 

Tarok, although injured was a formidable fighter as demonstrated by his ability to beat Centauri guards to a pulp.  T'wyln as worse.  He was of the Tal Shiar elite, a trained killer and covert specialist.  Although his allegiance was dubious, he was still Romulan and his priorities were clear at this point in time. 

The Tal Shiar had fallen into disfavor recently with the two debacles that almost destroyed the political and military power-base of the Empire.  The first error was the pre-emptive attack on the Dominion's homeworld.  Most of their resources were used up in that foolhardy gamble. The ships and crews of the Tal Shiar were destroyed or captured and the loss of prestige was unimaginable.   The Praetor took the opportunity to gut the organization and take direct control effectively bring it under his command.  That turned out to be a rather pleasant situation for a while.  Then the Cylons came and the few remaining free operatives raised their ambitious heads again and cost the Empire dearly. 

The late Praetor's son had been influenced by a member of the Tal Shiar to attack prematurely and that caused the destruction of an entire Romulan fleet.  Undeterred, a member of the Tal Shiar threatened Praetor Tomalak in the middle of the war.  That insane plan failed and the fool had been spaced with prejudiced.  Now, the Tal Shiar had only a few agents under direct control of the Praetor.  T'wlyn was one of them and now he had been influenced by some malevolent entity called the Travigen, or to use his other name, Count Iblis.        

"Why did these people keep the shuttle so close to the palace?" Tarok asked Galen.  "Surely, there were more secure places to keep it safe and study it."

"The leader of this society is not stable," Galen whispered back.  "He trusted no one to protect it other than himself.   This planet has recently come under attack by unknown forces.  It was good thing that he is so paranoid otherwise the shuttle and you would have been destroyed in the blast that destroyed the Imperial city.  He was very proud of your capture.  As you know, the _Enterprise__, K'mpec's Honor _ and the others Federation have given him and his forces grief.  Your Vulcan shuttle provided a means in which he could counter their threat."

"We are Romulan," Tarok said darkly.  "Not Vulcan."

"It hardly matters to Cartagia.  Your technology is unique and as such is of value.   I will send a message to Captain Sisko so that he can pick up the shuttle with the transporters, so that you can keep your secrets."

Sela frowned. Q must have put them back into the Alpha quadrant.  "Captain Picard will honor our agreements."

"I am sure he'll be happy with his crew safe and sound."

"We are not part of his crew," Sela hissed.   Quickly she calmed down.  "Can you scan the shuttle and determine its general status.  We were captured when the power died.  I want to know if anything has changed."

"Your wish is my command, Galen replied.  To the astonishment of the onlookers, from his pocket he produced two butterflies.  In grand style he whispered something to them and released them.  They fluttered to the floor and crawled underneath the door.

Understanding dawned.  "Technomage," Na'Toth said.  "I thought you were myths."

Galen merely smiled.

The stealth butterflies fluttered towards their target, virtually ignore by security and technicians.  They entered the opened doorway and landed gently on the control panel.  As they did so, the melded and spread across the entire panel, then the secondary controls, then everything else of interest.  When the job was completed, they reformed and fluttered away back from where they came from.  The entire process took ten minutes.

Galen 'collected' his butterflies and generated a small screen on the back wall.  The image was crystal clear with every little detail showing.  The Narn was very impressed; the Romulans merely concentrated on what they were seeing.

"The power is still at zero," Tarok said after he analyzed what he was seeing carefully.   "The backup power for the weapons appear to be functional."

The Blond Romulan nodded.  "Curious that Q allowed us that little amenity."  Towards the end of the transmission, they saw a large contingent of officers followed by Cartagia enter the room…

_Well, well, well._  Armed with that little piece of knowledge, T'wyln could have cared less about anything else.  "Q is powerful but he is nothing compared to Iblis," he whispered more to himself rather than the others.  "My family is protected through him, and I now forfeit my life.  These arrogant creatures are not worthy of the life given them."   

In one fluid movement, the Tal Shiar pulled a small flap of skin away from his elbow and squeezed it before anyone what he was doing.  Both Sela and Tarok understood an instant later, their eyes going wide with shock.  It was a signal device usually used to detonate explosives.

"It is over," T'wyln whispered in his native language.  Arrogantly, he looked at his fellow Romulans.   "Did you believe that Iblis would have allowed Janeway to contact the children?"  he asked them, voice rising.  "It's as you've said Command Sela," he sneered.  They're too trusting and that will ultimately be their downfall.  Q has been contaminated by them as well.  This is why Lord Iblis and his forces will rule our galaxy and no one will stop it."

"You're insane,T'wlyn," Torak spat out.  "I care nothing for these people.  But you didn't give us time to get away."

"You're Romulan," he countered.  "These people have tried to usurp our technology and they have defiled Romulan citizens and the Senate.  They must be taught a lesson.  And you must be ready to die giving them such lessons.   Is that not what we've been taught since birth?"  He took a breath and said,  "You die for the Empire.  I die for Iblis.  But we will not die alone."

Tarok shot him.  

Galen didn't understand the language but he did understand the intent.  "How long?"

"Seven standard minutes."

" He turned to his companions.  "I must go.   He looked at the wounded Romulan and placed a small flower on his torn shirt.  Then turned away.   "USS _Yeager_, emergency.  Three to beam up to beam up, ASAP."

"This is the USS _Yeager_.  Who is this?" a voice demanded.  It was Captain Sisko.

The response was instant.  "Scan us and find out."  Without a second's thought he left the startled aliens.  Ship," he ordered.  "Come now."

The sound of weapons fire drew security from everywhere.  The door was kicked opened and they found one prisoner almost dead from a shot to the stomach.  Dragging him out, of the storage room they took to their Emperor.  Cartagia was disgusted by the prisoners green blood spilling everywhere. 

"Where are the others?" he demanded.

T'wlyn looked at the Emperor though dimming eyes.  "I am Romulan," he said in his native language, "and I will die spilling your blood."  He managed to smile a little before he died.

The escape of the prisoners had given Cartagia time to think.  Attacking the Minbari would be foolish.  However he could ransom these Federation prisoners and sue for peace, giving him time to escape their wrath.  No doubt they would want _his_ head in a jar.   He had to get away which is why he wanted this ship functional.  But his scientists were useless.  They had no idea what they were doing and he would have them executed before the day was out for their incompetence.   He needed the knowledge those prisoners possessed, if he was to live long enough to ascend into godhood.

"Find them," he ordered the nearest officer-in-charge.  Or you and your family will take their place in the chambers."

The Officer gulped and rushed to obey his Emperor's orders.

Turning, he entered the shuttle.  He needed time to think.  Strangely, one console wasn't dark and it drew him to it.   One of his aides followed and stared at it  as well.

"It reminds me of a… countdown," the aide mused a second before he realized that that was what it was.  A moment later he was stumbling blindly out the door, oblivious to everything but the need to get away.

Cartagia screamed as everything clicked.  The strange smile of the prisoner, the one console, the lack of prisoners, transporter technology…

Terrified, he ran mindless towards the nearest exit with his entourage following.  The elevator opened just as he noticed that his guard's skeleton was visible.  One microsecond later there was only blackness.    

Two twenty isoton antimatter warheads vaporized everything within an eight square kilometer area.  Loss of life was total within a twelve mile radius and all that marked the once beautiful palace and township was a smoking crater.

**_Leonis Jumpgate:_**

Captain Jack Maynard's Explorer ship _Cortez_, detected the jumpoint first.  One ship was identified as a _Hyperion_.  The other, his scanners didn't even detect until it slowed down.  The _Cortez_ was out near the edge of known space in the middle of a five year mission and as such information was far and few in-between.  The one thing they had heard of was the battle at _B5_ and the small ships that took out heavily armed EF ships without breaking a sweat.  They had also heard of snippets of information about battle at Proxima III. 

The _Cortez_ was almost the length of _Babylon_ _Five_, but its armament was relatively weak and they relied more on speed for protection than anything else.   The two Om_e_gas had arrived about the same time as the _Cortez_ and Maynard's crew was relieved.  Out at the edge, one saw a lot of strange things and most of the crew were light sleepers these days because of it.  A flash of light and the ship called _Enterprise_ was there. 

"Captain, we're receiving a hail," a very nervous radioman said.  "No one wanted a fight. Not now.

"Answer it please."

There was a little static before they heard the voice.

"This is the USS _Enterprise_ and the _Revere_ coming to assist you from _Babylon Five_.  We are not hostile."

"Thank God," Maynard said softly.   "I'm Captain Jack Maynard of the_ Cortez_.  We received the message two days ago and since we were in the general area, we came to investigate."

Near the _Cortez_ were the two Earth Alliance warships.  Both ships were weapons active and their support Star Furies were out, but none of them were targeting anyone which was a wise precaution.  And in order to maintain the peace Jack decided to keep the lines of communication open. 

"As far as we can tell, the jumpgate was destroyed about four days ago."  All four of the struts were twisted and melted.  Most of the remains were barely recognizable.  "Weapons fire of some sort."

"I don't understand it," the Captain of the _Hera _said.  "No one destroys a jumpgate, except under the worse of circumstances and even then…" 

"The first might have been a mistake," Maynard said.  "But this does not happen twice.  We have the supplies to build another one,  but I don't see the point.  We need to find out who is doing this."

"Could it have been the Centauri?" Commander Riker asked.

"Absolutely not," Jack said.  "Even at their worse, they wouldn't consider that."  He was interrupted by his scanners officer at the same time that Tasha called for Picard's attention.

"We have a spatial disturbance one thousand Kilometers to our stern," Tasha said.  "Two ships-" Tasha's face reddened.  "The configuration matches the data given to us by the _Ambassador_."

"Red alert," Picard ordered.  The bridge darkened and the cold professionalism of combat-readiness took over. 

Captain Walton of the _Hera_ was one the line again.  "This was a trap.  They were waiting for us.  We didn't detect them in jump space.   The _Cortez_ is a non-combatant.  She needs to get clear."

"Agreed," Maynard said.  "We're powering up now."

"We'll give you the time to get away," Walton said.  "Head for Proxima II or Earth."

"Roger that.  See you on the other side."

The huge ship had already begun powering up; its massive engines starting to move the vessel away from the fighting.  The modified Hyperion Revere had launched its six Thunderbolt  Star Furies - first generation modifications of the B5 updates- which raced ahead to join the others.    Already the EA warships had turned to face this new threat bearing down on them. 

The twin enemy vessels, both sporting the characteristic bulbous power cores, changed course slightly to intercept the fleeing _Cortez_.  They were huge vessels, a hundred meters larger than Minbari Sharlins, immediately targeted long distance fire at the Cortez.  Interceptor fire from her kept her from being hit, but the resultant explosions rocked her hard. 

Two-dozen fighters, squid-like in design seemed to 'unmerge' from the front of the vessels and immediately went after the Star furies.  These two ships and their support fighters-to be known by everyone later as a cloven strike team-attacked the EA fighters, most of which found themselves immediately in desperate straits.   Maynard watched and listened as the battle played itself out. 

Black 4:  "What are these things?  They look like mutant Vorlon…"

Black 6:  "They're in range…firing…a hit…no go.  My shot was deflected …bounced off…"

Raptor 3:  "I hit it twice…no effect…R2 , look out !  You've got two on your five!  Get out…no!"

Raptor 6:  "Loews!…that was me!…(static) who taught you to shoot?!!"

Raptor 5:  "Sorry!…R6, it's coming around again!"

Black 4:  "I'm with my wingman…we got it…had to double-team one…took fourteen hits…we cant handle this!…they just took out  Black 3…My god…it's coming.  Somebody he…"

Raptor 4:  "These things are kicking our butts…"

Raptor 3:  "They have shields…(static)…too much time to break through…lost  half the squadron…we…"

Silver 3:  "Raptor and Black squadrons, back off…we'll handle your six…"

Silver 1:  "Everyone, Hellfires on my mark….in three, two, one…fire!"

Raptor 4:  "Jeez!…what type of missiles were those?" 

Silver 4:  "Raptor 4, go evasive!…we're coming."

Raptor 4:  "You're too far away to take the shot…What?…How the (static) did you…"

Black 6:  "This is insane!...(static)…We have to fall back!…let Silver squadron cover our retreat…"

Silver 3:  "We just lost Silver 2…they ganged-up on her."

"Silver 1:  "Phase cannons are effective.  Repeat PCs are a go."

Silver 3 and Silver 5:  "Roger that…"

Raptor 3:  "Silver 4 got broadsided!…wait, he's still moving…Why…"

Raptor 7:  "What kind of modifications do you have?"

Silver 1:  "Later on that R7…S3 and S4, missile sweep…targets a seven two mark eight  in five, four…"

Black 2:  "It's (static) me down…  Need assistance…"

The rest was lost to Maynard and the crew of the _Cortez_ as the jump-point collapsed behind them.

"Godspeed to them all," Maynard heard his First Officer say. 

He agreed.

Instinctively, the four defenders attacked two-on-one.  The _Hera_ began her attack run with the _Adrastus _less than a kilometer behind.  Both sets of main guns fired in unison, the heavy particles slammed into their targets, hitting dead center.  The target barely felt it, as its protective field deflected the far majority of energy.  As it continued on a straight-line course towards the _Hera_, it fired a plasma burst and it was all the _Hera_ could do to counter using its defensive fire.  The explosion knocked the _Hera_ about as it scrambled to get out of its way.  Laser and particle beams the continued to rake the alien vessel, which simply shrugged it off. 

The _Adrastus_ fired several nuclear-tipped missiles that hit the Sinhindrea's first vessel.  Multiple explosions raked the ship, the shockwaves buffeting both _Omegas_.   Arrogantly, the ship sailed through the nuclear holocaust and fired at the _Adrastus_.   A blinding beam stuck the vessel and it simply disappeared.  The ship then began targeting the _Hera_.  

The second Clovien was doing less well.  The _Revere_ had fired two salvos of photonic missiles at their target and the _Enterprise_ had followed with a full spread of torpedoes.  The combined strike rocked the ship and reduced its shielding to forty percent.  Cautious now, it fired on the _Enterprise_ with a vicious combination of plasma and beam weapons.  Hit, the Federation shields nearly collapsed.  Energy beams burned through shielding and blew out a section of armored hull plating.   The _Enterprise_ accelerated and the second attacked missed.  The second ship fired on the _Revere_ to stop its continued harassments.  The pulse destroyed an engine and a fifth the rear of the vessel.  The only reason why it was still in action was that the new plating had taken most of the brunt.   It limped away, while the _Enterprise_ retaliated with its phasers and succeeded in destroying one of the twin gun ports. 

Aware of the threat of the _Enterprise_, the second Clovien ignored the _Hera_ and the _Revere_ to aid its partner in attacking this fast moving enemy ship.  It had been identified as a prime threat, like the other one…

"This is Captain Picard to the _Revere_ and _Hera_.  Collect your fighters and evacuate the area immediately!"

"This is the _Revere_.  We will not abandon you."

"This is the _Hera_.  The same goes for us.   We will support the Furies but we will be back."

"Negative," Picard yelled over the increasing din.  Twin plasma pulses shredded the last of the shielding.  "Tasha, target the first ship engine full spread, maximum yield.  Phasers fire at same target.  I want it destroyed.  Mr. Crusher, continue your evasives.  Give us some room."

With the threat of the _Revere__'s_ Silver squadron, the Sinhindrea fighters concentrated on them, trying to eliminate the greater threat.  Most of them failed to see the _Hera _swing around and box them in from behind.  The bloodbath finished, both the _Hera_ and _Revere_ collected the surviving Furies and prepared to flee the area.  However before they did, both ships targeted all of their remaining nuclear and photonic missiles on the rear most ship. 

-And fired.  The impact of sixteen missiles destroyed what was left of the damaged Clovien's shielding and ruptured the huge energy matrix reactor.  Trying to avoid the shockwave, the _Enterprise_ turned into the surviving Clovien's beam weapon.  The beam connected with the saucer section- and went completely through. 

The hit had been felt all of the way to Picard's soul. 

"Get us out of here!" he yelled to Mr. Data.  Wesley was on the floor, bleeding, as was Tasha.  Riker, with a broken knee, was manning the weapons station now, at least until he passed out.  Something was on fire and the suppression units hadn't activated.

"They're coming into range," someone yelled.     

"Mr. Data, warp drive."

"I cannot, sir.  It is off-line."

"Geordie!"

"Two minutes.  I'm working on it.   That last hit did a lot of damage.  Deflectors are gone.  All we have is impulse right now."

"Phasers offline but rear photon torpedoes tubes are okay," William said before he hit the floor in a sickening thud.

Auxiliary bridge crews were filling in for the wounded and EM teams were trying to put out fires.  Someone was filling in now at the weapons section. 

"Ensign Miller, I want you to fire all available torpedoes at the target.  Also I want one Alpha Mark III's configured for a directed strike." 

"Yes, Sir."

He sat down and discovered that his wrist was broken.  Waves of agony passed over him and it was almost a minute before he could speak.

Another enemy pulse managed to touch the ship, and the main defector suffered major damage.

"Ready."

"Sir, I must remind you that we are too close," Data said.  "And the Alpha Mark III is not designed for space to space combat. 

Picard ignored him.  He already knew that.  "Mr. Data, maximum acceleration.  Ensign, fire."

Eighteen photon torpedoes and one Alpha mark-III planet cracker erupted from the rear launchers and struck the remaining Clovien that was just now realizing the extent of the danger it was in.  It tried to break off but didn't succeed.   

The shockwave buffeted the _Enterprise_ and added to the damage.  Badly hurt, the ship began limping away.  A jump-point formed and the _Hera_ and _Revere_ exited, ready for another round with the enemy.

"_Enterprise_, _Enterprise_!  This is the _Revere_."

"This is _Enterprise_," a very tired voice said.  "I'm afraid that we are not at out best right now."

"You don't want to know what you look like from out here.  We have to leave the area.  Can you maneuver on your own?"

"One quarter impulse."

"I shall assume that that means 'yes'," Captain Walton said.  "We're generating a jump-point for you and the _Revere_.  Follow us in."

"Your President might not appreciate your actions," Picard responded.

"Screw him.  I didn't see him out here trying to save our butts."

"Then by all means, lead the way," Picard said. 

That was the last thing he remembered before he fainted.

****

**_Centauri Prime_**:

For a Technomage, six minutes can be a life-time. 

It took two minutes for his ship to land in the middle of the palace garden and it took another two minutes to make his way to it.  The stunned security guards were stunned yet again when the ship unleashed a potent toxin into the area. 

In moments everyone was unconscious, a mercy really, considering what was about to happen.  Once inside, Galen raced for the stars with several pursuit craft in tow.  A minute later, there was the flash of a nuclear (or worse, since it was Federation technology) detonation. 

The mad Emperor was gone.  Now Galen could only hope that the rest of the Centauri people wouldn't follow their leaders into destruction.

Captain Benjamin Sisko couldn't believe his ship's sensors.  Romulans on Centauri Prime.  But his mother and the one he thought of as his brother, had told him that the rift was closed.  Yet, here they were on the _Yeager_.  Two of them, one a blond!  Both were in bad shape, evidently tortured by the Centauri judging from the bruising. 

The female was just as surprised as he was, judging by her stares.  She also seemed surprised that he and Commander Lawson were holding phasers on them.

"Captain Sisko, what is it with Starfleet and uniforms? Can't you people ever decide once and for all and stick with it?"

Commander Lawson's contempt was so obvious that it chilled the room.  "Identify yourself."

With the phaser pointed at her, Sela attitude was becoming less flippant.  "Captain Sisko, I know we hadn't officially met but I don't believe holding weapons on us is warranted.  We had nothing to do with the explosion.   And even if we did, it would have been in our rights to make sure Romulan technology didn't fall into Centauri hands."

So you are saying that you were not responsible for destroying the palace and several kilometers of populated land?"

"That is exactly what I am saying," Sela answered.  "_Voyager_ would have never allowed our shuttle to dock with it if they felt we were a threat."  That was only half true she conceded but there was no need to tell Sisko that.  "In any case, Q's little game failed.  We need to know what the situation is with the Cylons and _Deep Space Nine_."

"_Deep Space Nine_?"  Lawson asked.

And Sisko froze.  His Other had shown him _DS9_.  

Both Sela and Torak ignored the junior officer for speaking out of turn.  "I don't remember a planet called Centauri Prime in the Alpha quadrant but as of now they have made enemies of the Romulan Empire. "

"I will ask you again," Lawson stated.  "Identify yourself."

Sela sighed.  _Humans. _  I am High Commander Sela, attaché to Praetor Tomalak of the Romulan Star Empire and this is Senator Torak.  We were on a joint mission with Starfleet to prevent the Cylons from acquiring high profile weaponry," she adlibbed.   There was no reason to give him full details.    "Q hijacked us from _Voyager_ and placed us here at Centauri Prime with a disable shuttle as some sort of childish prank.  This mission is too important.  I demand that we establish contact with _Voyager_."

Sisko's face was stone as he said, "put them in confined quarters and have the medics take care of them."

"Confinement?  Why are you doing this.  Our people…"

"You are a Romulan onboard a Federation starship.  That is something we do not suffer lightly.  Now move."

"Torak was surprised.  "Why are you so hostile towards us?" he asked.

"I knew it," Sela spat.  All of her hatred and anger came spewing forth.  "Federation respect.  Your policies are all lies."

"Get them out of my sight," Sisko angrily ordered.  But then he held up a finger and looked at the fuming blond.  "And just who are the Cylons?" he asked her.

Sela's mouth hit the floor.

Ambassador Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic was alone.  Locked in a small room that reminded him of a cell, he found that all he could do was wait.  The Minbari ship was a cold alien place and he felt quite uncomfortable on it.   That the Minbari allow him onboard in the first place was something of a political miracle.  The Centauri hadn't officially declared war on the Minbari (Cartagia wasn't that insane) but they were allied with their enemies and that made them enemies by default.

Held in general isolation, the only individual he saw was a Minbari servant that attended to his needs.    He had no idea what was going on, so he was more than ready when the Minbari fleet Commander walked boldly into his room.

"Ambassador," Rannaonn said bowing slightly in a way that indicated that it was a completely false gesture.  "Six hours ago the Minbari fleet reached Centauri Prime.  Surprisingly I've chosen not to bomb your people, as the humans so quaintly put it, back into the stone-age as you so passionately did to the Narn.  Wisely, your military has not made any hostile actions against us.  But your planet has been attacked by other forces and tens of millions of your people are dead and dying.  We don't know who those forces were, although I have my suspicions, as should you," he added darkly.  

Quickly, he raised his and stopping the Ambassador from asking the first of a million questions. 

"There is more," he continued.  "Two hours ago, there was an incident.  The Imperial Decar Palace home of Emperor Cartagia and the several kilometers of territory associated with it is now nothing more than a hole in the ground.  We believe that Cartagia was at the center of the blast along with most of your Imperial cabinet.  If that is true, and we think this very likely, then there is no effective leadership to rule your world.  This promotes chaos and chaos promotes strife.  If your military attacks us for whatever reason, we will turn the rest of your world into a smoking ruin.  So, the question becomes, what are you going to do about it, Ambassador?"

   
**_EarthSpace_**:

Things had changed so much since Commander Gerald Higgins had returned to Earth.  Considered a hero by the Clark regime, he steadfastly continued his unwavering support no matter what happened.   But that was simply the outside persona he was forced to wear.  Inside, he was a terrified, frightened man.  He was afraid not for himself but for his family.  They, meaning Clark's people, were watching him closer than ever and being such a high profile 'hero', the decision to keep him loyal had become paramount.  It was a joke, really.  Everyone hated the man, yet no one spoke up for fear that he would do to them or their families. 

When the news broke concerning the deal between Clark and the Shadows, he hadn't doubted it for a second.  He was overjoyed when the Senators came after Clark, but even he was surprised when Clark turned one of the GOD platforms towards Earth to keep everyone in line.  But that served only to enflame the entire population.  His once friend and Commanding Officer, Sandra Hiroshi had been correct about him. When this mess was over, it would take years for the wounds to heal, or maybe longer if the rumors were correct. 

He popped a couple of pills the doctors said would cure his recurring headaches which began after he returned to Earth.  Of course his wife had noticed the change in his attitude, and the increased gray streaks in his preciously brunette hair. The increase in stature served only to make him more of a prisoner of Clark's.

Now, instead of patrolling at the edge of space, he patrolled Earth system's core with a ship he helped design.  The _Monsoon_ Raneko variant was considered one of the premier vessels recently developed by Earth's R&D.  The ship was a hybrid of EarthForce and stolen Federation technology.  Although it couldn't travel at the velocity of his modified _Thunderbolt _it did sport first generation polarized hull plating.  It was inferior to what was being produced at _B5_ but it worked and Federation tech didn't kill you if you touched it, unlike shadow tech. The ship was directly opposite of Clark's huge intimidating vessels which got larger with every design.  But with the introduction of the Starfleet ships even he had to admit that size wasn't everything.  It just made the President angrier.

The new fusion engine designs copied directly from his fighter generated enough power to more than compensate for this flying tank.  In addition to all of the standard weapons, it had a first generation reverse engineered, Klingon disruptor canon.  The information acquired from the remains of the Klingon derelict had been valuable indeed.  But having the equipment and understanding how it worked, was another matter altogether.  By back-engineering the hand disruptor, the smallest weapon developed by R&D had to be mounted on a two hundred meter ship. 

The _Raneko_ gunboats, easily modified and retrofitted, were quickly becoming the ship of choice for system patrols which left the larger warships free to be used elsewhere.  Older, obsolete ships could now be retired.  Nothing would be retired soon if the rumors were true.  EarthForce was gathering for an all out push against _Babylon Five_.  Otherwise, the rumor said, President Clark would obliterate a few cities with the G.O.D.s pointed at the planet.  

His thirty-six hour patrol was just about over, when gold channel lit up.  The hyperspace beacon warning system had been triggered.   Jump points distortions, dozens of them, were forming across and from behind the moon.

It was a Drakh invasion force.  Four-dozen Drakh three thousand, three hundred sixteen meter-long ships supported by hundreds of Raiders.  In a bold move, the ships had successfully bypassed all of Earths early warning systems in order to get at the planet.  The EA ships closest to the attackers died before they knew that they were under attack.

But EarthForce already on a war footing was quick to respond.  Particle beams, lasers plasma and pulse canons, and fusion missile quickly saturated the area.  The EF juggernaut moved to engage the enemy.  There was no time for organized combat.  Ships picked a target and went after it.  The Star Fury engaged Raiders by the dozens, then hundreds.

Higgins and the other gunboats went in firing everything they had at the rearguard cruisers.  The half-dozen gunboats swept in by twos, strafing a cruiser with heavy particle and disruptor weapons.  By the time the last pair were completing their run, the vessel shuttered visibility, then exploded when the gravitic reactor went critical.  The gunboat crews were ecstatic.  The Drakh war machine was comparable to the Minbari military and the _Monsoon_ variants had proven for the second time that they could hold their own in a fight.   Now as a group, the Higgins crew, as they would become to be known as, went after the Raiders supporting the Star Furies.  And any Drakh vessel damaged by the fighting became fair bait.

Caught by surprise, EarthForce as a whole were being slowly pushed back by the superior firepower of the Drakh's brutal quantum canons.  The losses began to mount as the humans lost an average of two capital ships to one.  But there was a reprieve when twenty EF ships swept into the system.  Under the command of Colonel Griffin the ships ripped into the flanks of the enemy.  Now caught between two forces, the Drakh committed a full fourth of their forces to crush the newcomers.  And to add to the carnage several Drakh fired nuclear missiles at Earth.  Sixteen were fired and the G.O.D.s stopped fourteen of them.  Los Angeles and most of Peking melted in radioactive fire. 

The EA had an added handicap.  Fighting so close to Earth meant that scores of civilian vessels were caught in the crossfire.  Desperate screams permeated the comm channels-screams that the warships couldn't dare respond to.  It became readily apparent that the Drakh preferred using civilian ships as cover for their attacks and EarthForce ships that hesitated, died.  The hesitations cease and horrified EF crews began firing on their own civilians in their need to protect Earth.

But the collective shock tactics worked and a small wedge of cruisers broke through the EF barricade.  Seven Drakhs fired on the _Novas_ serving as the last line of defense before the G.O.D.s.  Quantum beams hit the first the first ship near the bridge decapitating it and that ship drifted into another.  Responding dreadnought plasma canon and particle beams were so thick that those looking though unfiltered lenses were instantly blinded.  Despite that, three of the cruisers crashed through and released small vessels that vectored directly for the planet.  G.O.D. platforms were firing now and two of the cruisers were caught in the crossfire and blown into bit.  The platform particle beams and missiles also fired on the small vessels but they continued onwards into Earth's atmosphere.  Then they began to spay a dark powder-like substance into high orbit.

The President of EarthGov wasn't on Earth.  The instant Earth was attacked he and most trusted aides were in orbit, about to break away the instant it seemed that EF would lose the battle.  But that also meant that his dreams would be crushed as well.  If this planet was lost, then Mars would have to do if they could hold on to it.  Right now they needed more ships.  

He activated Gold channel's military one commline.  "This is President Clarke of Earth Allegiance," he said shaking.  "We are under attacked by the Drakh.  All EarthForce vessels are ordered to Sol sector immediately.  Repeat Earth is under attack.  Immediate assistance is requested."

The _Hammermill_ and it escort had just survived a brutal confrontation with a Drakh capital ship twice their size.  Sadly for the Drakh it was only half as large now but it had taken a lot of both crews with it before it blew.  Griffin's ship was losing atmosphere and since the Captain had died he was about to give the order to abandon ship.  The was nothing they could do now.  That's when he heard the transmission.

"This is Admiral Kathryn Janeway of the United Federation of Planets," the voice said, "responding to your distress calls. We will be there in two minutes."

Shaking, Colonel Griffin grabbed the mike.  He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.  "This is Colonel Griffin of EarthForce," he yelled.  "Did you say you were a Federation starship?" 

"Yes," the Admiral responded to a stunned Griffin. Had Garrett and Picard lied to them about being from another universe or was this another spatial intrusion?  _And why now?_

"Explanations can wait until later," he woman said.  She cut communications leaving him confused but relieved. 

He prayed that they could help.  Now, his crew needed him and he gave the order.  "Abandon ship."  

Commander Higgins gaped at the sight.  It was a Fed ship; that much was unmistakable.  It was similar but different, with dual nacelles instead of the singles like the others.  Then there was another ship just like the _Yeager_ that just appeared and took out a Cruiser as if it was just an inconvenience in the way.  But what made him freeze was the unmistakable Klingon vessel, bigger and meaner than anything he'd imagine that also appeared in the middle of a Drakh formation, its shields casually taking everything they gave, before it began tearing every offending ship apart with some type of horrible energy weapon.   Every fear he had came rushing back.  The Federation was here, Picard and the others had lied and Earth's freedom and future may have just been ruined in a way Clark could have never achieved. 

Okay, he ordered.  "Let's get back into the fight!  Roberts-pick a target."

_That's it for now everybody. Comments?  Questions?_

_ I am about to go on a break and will pick this up in September as I stated in the other story  I am not dropping off the map so I will be answering questions, etc as they come up.  To all of you, thanks again and see you soon.  Also you might want to read the 'Those who Stand' to find out what's going on with the other side. Take care, folks. _   Albert


	28. Chapter 26

_**Note: Although Fanfiction has stated that they've fixed the paragraph seperation glitch. Don't believe it yet because they haven't . If you see X's around that means seperation of POV's, an Idea that Janusi had. Good idea. Now without further ado; go for it. Comments are welcomed.  
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_**Chapter Twenty-Six**_

"_**The One Side of the Coin"**_

_**(The Armageddon Conflict :) Part 2**_

**Earth Space:**

Captain Jake Thompson gaped at the sight of three alien ships tearing into a group of Drakh cruisers in this free-for-all madness with an abandon that confirmed the insanity of its Captain and crew. It was simply the last thing he could have imagined. Bright energy beams slashed the enemy ships casually tearing them to shreds before moving on to the next targets. Considering the exhaustive briefings with the President, other military advisors and scientists that he participated in, it took less than a second for him to realize that those ships originated from the so-called Federation. Those ships were what his squadron had trained to fight against these last four months before the disaster at Centauri Prime.

Thompson's ship's sensors were barely tracking them and that was only because his ship was enhanced with shadow technology. This was Thompson's first time seeing them in action, in person and the Captain locked onto every detail as he could and now seeing it first hand it was a truly terrifying sight. His attention was short-lived however as his ship began to vigorously defend itself from a renewed enemy attack.

From what little he'd seen President Clark and his people were right in their initial assessments. These aliens, lost colonists, other dimensional beings, whatever; were dangerous in the extreme. They were a threat, maybe as bad as those other aliens that attacked Centauri Prime. The political ramifications alone would be enough to cause an alliance-wide panic.

That meant that when this was over, unless the President changed his mind, he would be ordered to disable that vessel or destroy it as per Clark's standing orders. The power readings on this Federation ship was immense but if he could get in a first strike Thompson was convinced he could succeed in his mission. Then they would haul the ship off to a secured area and not even the _Enterprise_ or _Ambassador_ would be able to find it. In a short time the playing field would become more even.

The Drakh, also recognizing the new players and the threat they represented, retaliated for all they were worth. The ease in which they had brutalized the Earth defenders was now long gone. A new pride had arrived and to ignore them was to do so at their peril. The battle of Proxima III and their subsequent defeat by EarthForce and the _Enterprise_ was still fresh in their minds and they were hot and eager for revenge. However, they understood the lessons of that battle as well and now the hunters had become prey. Quantum weapons, so devastating to EarthForce vessels was completely ineffectual against Federation defensive shields. And their vessel's speed and maneuverability was bordered on the impossible.

These newcomers were as dangerous as the others, which was proven seconds later as two heavy cruisers were split apart by some new energy beams their sensors had trouble identifying. Another ship identified as a possible Klingon derivative appeared out of nowhere, used its beam cannons to eviscerate another cruiser and then disappear a moment later from both scanners and visuals. The Federation ship-another smaller one- fired pulsed weapons with simply rendered Drakh armor useless. It attacked raiders and they died.

XXX

'..._A Federation starship; another one'._ Higgins heart went cold at the sight. And over there he spied one of their allied Klingon ships, which made the other Klingon cruiser look puny in comparison. So much for the other universe theory he thought savagely.

"Drakh cruiser, two hundred klicks dead ahead. It's listing..."

A jolt of excitement hit him. It was time to rack up another kill. "Let's finish it."

Moments later, Higgins's gunboat squadron hit the mammoth, three thousand meter plus ship from the rear with every weapon at their disposal. As was becoming their pattern, the ships targeted the gravitic reactor. The already damaged Drakh, busy engaging two _Omegas, _never knew what hit it until it was far too late. Dozens of disruptors, particle lasers, pulse cannons and first generation photonic missiles vaporized the engineering section, which helped to destroy the entire itself.

Higgins's crew cheered while he allowed himself a brief smile. But that moment's respite was cut off as three bright explosions in succession caught his eye. He'd seen explosions like that before. Those were photon detonations-big ones. That meant that three of the enemy had just died. The Federation ship, the one that looked like the _Yeager_ had streaked by, fearlessly engaging a squadron of Drakh raiders single-handedly.

The Drakh raiders already knew they were in trouble. And as one, the seven of them ignored targets of opportunity and attacked the _Saber_. Neutron cannons targeted the ship's expected trajectory and were rewarded with several hits. Energy rays splashed against its shields, setting them aglow, but doing little damage before the ship was out of weapon's range. Then the _Saber _returned fire....

In a matter of seconds, pulse phasers designed to destroy Borg obliterated an entire squadron without them inflicting any apparent damage in return. The starship used a type of weaponry he'd never seen before.

The Commander was more than a bit envious watching the pure havoc caused by the small gunboat sized ship. And again, the old fears began to surface once more. Quickly he squashed them down as he glimpsed Earth. There were cities burning down there. His daughter. His wife. The hideous possibilities that lay in that train of thought would give him nightmares for the rest of his life.

Cold fear turned into raw anger. The President's shuttle and the StarFury escorts had not yet made it to safety. Two raiders and a Drakh Cruiser had broken through and were making another push towards Earth. Clark's shuttle was in the way and with Clark's special fleet in danger of being wiped out; he directed his squadron to intercept and engage

XXX

One of the many lessons learned during the Great War, as the Earth-Minbari war was called, was that the security of the Executive branch of the government was paramount. The safest place was deemed to be in orbit onboard a secured ship able to relocate quickly. The safest ship was the Shadow hybrid _Omega _commanded by Captain Thompson. However, the Drakh also had plans for him and the Loyalists squadron. Thompson's ship was in imminent danger as several Drakh cruisers were specifically trying to destroy what was left of his command. Two of the remaining six Shadow _Omegas_ died in front of his eyes. Those were the newest vessels, just out of space dock, not completely shaken down in the President's rush to place them on the front lines to advance his agendas.

Terrified, Clark panicked and punched in the command codes for the G.O.D.s to fire at the Drakh attacking the _Omegas_. They were out of range but it didn't matter to him as he proceeded to punch in the final authorization codes. That's when he heard the transmissions for another EF ship that his shuttle was being aggressively tracked and targeted. The Drakh were coming, directly towards them.

Already he could feel the shuttle's aggressive turning, the pilot starting an emergency burn away from the enemy. Strapped in his seat, the President, wide-eyed and trembling saw tiny dots rapidly growing as they vectored towards his direction. They were not EarthForce but aliens-Drakh. One cruiser and half dozen raiders were slashing through the already weakened EF defenses.

If only he could have made it to Mars, he would have been safe.

He'd chosen to defy Morden's masters and this was the result. Close to a hundred EarthForce ships had been damaged or destroyed in a nightmare of his own creation. Thousands of dead and dying servicemen and women trapped in space fighting to save him. Already there were hundreds of thousands of dead on Earth, with the promise of tens of millions more in the next few days, trapped in a poisoned atmosphere. His government destroyed, his powerbase in shambles, now they were coming to kill him.

And that was the only thing that really mattered. He really didn't want to die like this. He fully expected no one to come to his aid, so it came as a complete surprise when a small group of gunboats intercepted the attacking force. He only saw a small part of the battle since the shuttle pilot was still evading oncoming fire. EarthForce One starfuries were on the defensive, protecting the shuttle from weapons fire. However, it was only a matter of time.

Another shock: a severely damaged _Hyperion_ joined in the defense of the Presidential shuttle. It had only four functional medium pulse cannons but it attack along with the gunboats and ripped into the armored bridge of the Drakh cruiser. The effect was minimal but the distraction allowed the Higgins gunboat squadron to complete their attack on the huge enemy ship's engines. The Drakh already crippled from previous attacks turned upon its tormentors. The Captain of the _Hyperion_, realizing that she faced imminent destruction ordered a hasty retreat. Ignoring the punishing fire the gunboats were dishing out, the Drakh destroyer targeted the fleeing _Hyperion_. It then, promptly blew up, literally breaking in half. To Clark's right, there was a silvery flash, a glint of something passing over his shuttle.

XXX

It took a moment for the Commander Higgins to realize what had happened to the Drakh ship. It was the _Saber_ ship. Surprising himself, he ordered his comm.-Nav's officer to hail them.

'_The devil you know_...' "This is Commander Higgins of the Gunboat _Protector_ to the Federation starship."

The _Saber_ decelerated now took a defensive position near Earth and the Presidential shuttle. Higgins shook his head and sighed. Despite his fears to the contrary, this is exactly what he'd expect them to do. His ship had taken a lot more damage than he'd hope for.

The moment that the Drakh realized the gunboats were a threat they had been ferociously attacked. The only thing protecting his squadron had been the incredible speed and the polarized plating. The plating (and much of his ship) was now little more than scrap metal. But even though inferior, it had protected his people and he was ecstatic for that and when the new designs came out those facts would be recognized.

All around him, the fighting was dying out as the Drakh began their retreat safe in the knowledge that a battered EarthForce was in no shape to follow. The despised Federation ships intervention had been a blessing, but one that came almost too late. Much of the Earth defensives had been gutted before they had arrived and in the back of his mind something didn't seem right. There had been several openings in Earth's defenses that the Drakh could have exploited, but they hadn't. Only once did they attack and that was only to spread whatever plague they had infected the planet with. The fleet's focus seemed aimed more at EF ships rather than a direct attack against the Earth itself. Sadly, more than a third of Earth's defensive force had been effectively damaged or destroyed.

That was a defeat in anyone's book. This was the worse possible outcome. There was another aggressive species out there and a wounded EarthForce would attract them like sharks attracted to blood in the water.

"This is Lieutenant Commander Riker of the Federation Starship _Rantoul. _To whom am I addressing?"

A cold shiver went down Higgins's spine. It would have to be _'him'_. Higgins never really did like Riker that much. On _B5,_ the man was a little too stiff and a bit too condescending-and he had been to close to Sandra. If he captained this ship, then there were two _Sabers_ now. Sheridan was building his own little fleet with the help of Picard. But that didn't explain the '_other'_ ship; big as the _Enterprise,_ with the double nacelles cutting a swath through the remaining Drakh ships with an ease that awed him.

"It's Commander Higgins, Commander." _Time to make nice._ "Thank you for the assist. Nice little ship. Adding to your collection at _B5_? And what's with the brown uniform?"

He couldn't help it. He had to make some sort of jibe. Help or not, his opinion of the Federation and what it represented was not what he wanted his world to be a part of. He had no reason to distrust them but in his gut he still feared the changes they were bringing into his life. Clark was a devil but that was '_his_' devil; someone he understood, even if he hated him.

"This is Admiral Janeway of the Starship _Voyager_," a woman's voice broke in. "Could you contact your leaders? Your planet has just been infected with some sort of biogenic agent and it's spreading across your world geometrically. As of now, it has spread to eight percent of the atmosphere and is multiplying at a frightening rate. Within twelve hours, the entire planet will be affected."

Higgins's mouth opened, then closed then opened again. He was in complete shock. He'd allowed is fears of the Federation and what they might do so completely overwhelm him, that for a moment he had forgotten about the plague. His family on Earth was in mortal danger and there was nothing he could do about it.

"I-I've..." For an instant, words failed him. "Admiral Janeway, you can contact our President on this frequency."

**Earth Alliance Shuttle One:**

President Clark glared at the small but incredibly powerful ship that escorted the gunboats that had protected his shuttle. It was just like the _Yeager _butwith minute differences that his trained eyed noticed. Months of dedicated study enabled him to immediately recognize the ship's design in his sleep. In real life though, seeing it in front of him, he was rather surprised by the small size of the vessel. This was also his first time viewing his vessel in person and he discovered that photos and holograms couldn't do it justice. The ship was totally alien in design in a way that simple images could never show. But in contrast there was English script plastered boldly across the hull. USS _Rantoul_. It had to be a second one.

What was Sheridan doing, creating a fleet? Well, if the man wanted to command then he needed ships. That was understandable. He would and was doing exactly the same thing. His thoughts were interrupted as the co-pilot signaled for his attention.

"Sir, there is an Admiral Janeway on gold channel who wishes to speak to you."

"Janeway?" He didn't remember an Admiral Janeway on command staff. "Which Admiral is that?"

"A Federation one, sir," the young Ensign said, a bit too dryly for comfort.

The President's heart skipped a beat even as he continued looking out the window. The slight sarcasm in the voice of the comms officer was completely missed as the second, much larger vessel eased into view. Designed along the same lines as the _Enterprise_ and _Ambassador, _it looked somehow meaner, much more imposing. Its coloring was a darker gray that-

The ship shimmered and armor simply disappeared. In its place was a much brighter vessel with windows everywhere. Windows! Lots of them! The ship was so close that he could see people inside. This transportable armor was incredible. Nothing like that had been seen on the _Enterprise_ or _Ambassador_.

"This is President Clark," his voice squeaked and he felt a little light-headed. Weightlessness was getting to him. "Thank you. The people of the Earth Alliance are grateful for your assistance."

"There are a lot of things to discuss," the Admiral said to him. "We would like to meet with you as soon as possible Mr. President."

The woman's voice seemed kind, almost maternal, yes, even gullible. "Yes that would be good," the President said excitedly. He stroked his small chin vigorously. "We will meet at my command vessel, _EarthForce_ _One,_ commanded by Jake Thompson, who will be here momentarily. I look forward to meeting with you."

"Mr. President, we have the means to bring you to our ship-"

"I am aware of that, Admiral," he said sweetly. "But due to the circumstances, I believe that this contact would be better served on an EarthForce vessel. There is much to discuss and my planet, my responsibility, must be to my people."

Evidently the woman understood. Good. "We will meet when you are ready, Mr. President."

The transmission ceased and Clark felt jubilant. This was an opportunity to be snatched from the jaws of disaster. If he could somehow convince or even control these Federation people before Sheridan got to them; perhaps even sway Janeway to his side, then he might be able to retain his powerbase. He desperately needed the technology floating in front of him. It was calling to him like a long-lost lover.

If he could do this, then power could still be his. This was technology able to resist the Shadows, the Drakh and anyone else, including Sheridan and the Minbari. There might be some enjoyment starting over again. He could reconcile himself living on Mars. Earth could rot. Sheridan and the others might still pay for all of the things that they had done to him.

"Place a general quarantine on Earth," he ordered. "No one is to enter or leave under the most severe of penalties."

_**Babylon Five:**_

Judging from the urgent requests from Commander Ivanova, Ambassador Guinan moved quickly as she headed along with her escort towards the _B5_ Command and control media center. When she entered the sight that greeted her transfixed her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, not that it was impossible, but simply highly improbable. The two Federation escorts gaped at the scene before them as well. Inside the massive room, Sheridan, Ivanova, Delenn, Charlotte Clark, General Brindley, Garibaldi and others watched scene after scene of the devastation occurring on Earth. It was in real time, a gift from the Federation.

When Picard and the others had first arrived in this universe, one of the first things done was to send a stealth probe to the Earth system to determine conditions in the system. That probe was still functioning and transmitting data. And, as the trust between the Federation and the _B5_ers grew, they were given complete access to the probe's communications and data streams. As a result the officers of _B5_ knew exactly what was going on in the system, much to the chagrin to the General and Captain Clark. It really wasn't that much of a surprise since the Loyalists were doing the same thing, but the difference in real time was somewhat of a shock to them both. Tachyons transmissions had a lag time relative to the distance

The giant screen in front of the audience transmitted the horrifying attack by the Drakh in the Sol system with sickening clarity. So much information was being transmitted that most of them saw only glimpses of the entire battle. The Drakh hit the EA hard and the fighting had dissolved into a near free for all. There were hundreds of ships fighting one another everywhere. The information was also being transmitted to all EA ships in the _B5_ area and many of the EA ships, both Loyalists and Resistance, were on their way to Earth to defend their planet. Guinan was there as well, watching the horrifying spectacle along with the others who could only imagine the number of causalities that were being inflicted by both sides.

The news of the near destruction of _Enterprise_ by the aliens called the Sinhindrea came as another shock to everyone on all sides. Captain Garrett had wasted no time in going to her sister ship's aid. She was already in hyperspace and moving fast, not willing to trust the EA escorts with her safe being. _White Star Three _provided escort.

Then, Guinan's eyes widened and her whole demeanor changed. All around her there were collective gasps as several Drakh ships blew up in spectacular form. But the reason for those gasps wasn't the explosions, but what was responsible for them. Guinan knew what it was-something that should have never been there. It was a starship, like one she had never seen before. Nearby there was another, smaller vessel just like the _Yeager. _Well, almost. There were subtle differences, small ones that only she and a few other trained eyes would notice, but they were there nonetheless.

As the two ships attacked there was elation among the mesmerized crowd. And after a few minutes the fighting began to die down as the Drakh began their retreat.

"That's not the _Enterprise_," Susan whispered, giving voice to the obvious. "It looks sleeker, more aggressive somehow. I've seen all of the Starfleet designs and this is different."

A touch of a couple of buttons and the probe identified the transponder signal of the larger ship without any difficulty. USS _Voyager_. The smaller one was called the _Rantoul_.

'_More of these ships_ he thought. _Where were they coming from? Was there another gap in the universe? _ "Can we communicate with _Voyager_?" Sheridan asked.

"I think so," Guinan said, responding to Sheridan's question. "We can use the _Grant's_ comms system and reroute it through here." Quickly she contacted the Federation shuttle. A young Ensign's face appeared onscreen. "I want a Starfleet subspace communications routed through the command center here," she told him.

The Ensign listening sounded confused by her request. "Ma'am you can contact our ships through the hyperspace beacon. The subspace communication is spotty at best when they are in hyperspace," he added patiently. "I would have to reconfigure the array in order to contact the _Ambassador_."

"Ensign-"

"Yes, Ma'am. Rerouting through to BABCOM Media CnC in twenty seconds...done, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Ensign."

It was so quiet now that if a pin had dropped no one would have noticed it, so focused were they on what Guinan was about to say.

"To Starship _Voyager_," she said. "This is _Babylon_ _Five_. Please respond."

"This is the USS _Voyager_," came the immediate response. The voice seem surprised. The image facing here was that of a young male Ensign, about her complexion, dressed in a familiar, yet unfamiliar uniform. "Please identify yourself. You're on a Starfleet channel."

"Yes, I know," Guinan stated patiently. "I wish to speak to the Captain."

"This is Captain Chakotay," said a handsome, older man decorated with a very interesting facial tattoo. The man was excited and surprised. "Who are you?" Behind him, they could see several of the other Federation officers including the android Guinan knew as Lore."

The woman was reeling. "My name is Guinan and I-"That was as far as she got. There was a moment's hesitation as another, heavier voice came online." And her eyes went wide again as she looked at the Klingon in a Federation uniform, standing at his post behind the captain. Her eyes locked onto his.

"Guinan," the booming voice asked in a surprised but respected manner. "What are you doing here?"

"Do I know you?" she blurted out before she could stop herself. She knew exactly who it was. Worf was unmistakable. By the sounds emanating across the room others had recognized him also. But this Worf was the one of her dreams. And he was older, more mature and part of the Federation. It was right in ways she could not define. "Aren't you in the wrong universe?"

With that one question, she established the relationship with these people that they would soon have to deal with. The universe had a grand sense of humor because it was changing on them every few seconds it seemed. "How did you get here?"

"We can discuss that later," Chakotay answered. He seemed distracted for a second. "We need to keep this short, there are a lot of wounded out here and the enemy ships have attacked Earth with some type of biogenic agent."

"I understand. I am with USS _Enterprise NCC1701-D_ and _Ambassador_," she said and then added, "_NCC-1701-C_ Captain Rachel Garrett commanding. Do you understand?"

The Captain froze for a moment as someone off to his left motioned for his attention, and then he casually nodded. "We will re-establish contact with you in a few minutes. Admiral Janeway will want to speak to you on a secured channel. I believe we have a lot to talk about. Will Captains Garrett and Picard be available?"

"No," she answered. "Captain Garrett is assisting Captain Picard and the _Enterprise_ which was damaged in an attacked by an unknown species called the Sinhindrea."

Chakotay paled visibly. "We are aware of them. They have invaded this-sector of space and they will pose a significant problem for everyone here."

"You might be able to contact Captain Benjamin Sisko of the USS _Yeager_ by way of your subspace communications," Sheridan added helpfully." He was rewarded with a look that said 'not over an open channel because we really need to talk privately.'

"And Sir, you are?" the Captain said casually.

"The Commander of this space station, _Babylon Five_. Please inform your people that President Clark of Earth Alliance is not to be trusted."

He nodded. "We will get back to you shortly Commander," Chakotay promised.

****

_**USS Voyager:**_

"Admiral on the Bridge," Worf bellowed.

Janeway hated when he did that. Following closely behind her was the Doctor. "What's going on, Captain?"

"Actually, quite a lot, Admiral. We received a rather unusual call from the _Babylon_ _Five_ space station. A Captain Sheridan and a woman called Guinan contacted us."

"Guinan?" Surprise, surprise. "Our Guinan?"

"You know her?" Chakotay asked.

"I've met Guinan before," she answered. "If this is her counterpart, we will be able to trust her. Attention bridge crew. This is the second part of our mission that has been on a need to know basis. This mission is the price that the Federation has to pay as demanded by Q, in exchange for the information he gave us concerning V'ger."

"He wants us to interfere with the natural course of this universe." Annika surmised.

"Both our universes are linked in some fundamental way. This connection started with a species called the Vorlons. We are here to sever that particular connection."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"By destroying the gate we came through to get here," the Admiral answered. "Now, can we contact the starships already here?'

"According to Commander Sheridan, we should be able to contact the USS _Yeager_."

'What was the_ Yeager?_' "Open a channel."

Dutifully, the Communications Officer opened a Starfleet channel. A few seconds later a dark-skinned man with a short mustache, clothed in an older Starfleet uniform appeared onscreen. The man went from the personification of calm to utterly flabbergasted. His eyes flickered towards the console just to make sure it was working correctly, then narrowed perceptively.

Before the Commander could say anything, Janeway spoke. "I'm Admiral Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship _Voyager_ _NCC-74656-B._ We're presently orbiting the planet Earth of the Earth Alliance. Where is your Captain?"

The man seemed paralyzed for a second before coming to himself. "He's on his way, Admiral."

Janeway smiled slightly as the man fairly screamed to for the Captain to come to the bridge. A very somber Captain Sisko appeared and broke into the widest smile his crew had ever seen. "Captain Benjamin Sisko," she announced. "It's good to see you."

Stunned, he responded quickly. "You're from the Federation?" he asked. "He couldn't believe it. "How did you get here? Were you trapped by the Vortex as well? Where did you come from?"

Janeway lifted her hands slightly to forestall any more questions. "All in good time, Captain. I can tell you that we are from your parent universe, but not your timeline. We're here to help-as much as we can." She could tell that he understood what she had meant. "We're currently orbiting Earth. They've been attacked by a species called the Drakh. There's been a lot of damage to their forces here. Many of their ships have been destroyed or damaged, and the planet has been attacked with biogenic weapons."

His face remained stone as she related to him what had happened to Earth. During the years of her long journey back home, she became a pretty good judge of character. What she saw now, as a man steeped in years of war. What was wrong with him? Where did these people come from that he would show almost no emotion at what had happened to Earth? Q wasn't as forthcoming as she had liked.

"Earth Force, under control of President Clark is a threat as long as you are in orbit. They are not to be trusted. Even if you have _Galaxy_ class vessel, even if you are able to help them, there are elements of their military that will do anything to acquire your ship. "For your own safety, I recommend that you relocate to a station called _Babylon Five._ I am transmitting the coordinates now."

"Thank you for your concern," she answered. "But we are not here alone. We have the USS _Rantoul_ with us. _Voyager_ is a _Sovereign_ class vessel with enough firepower to handle anything Earth Force can throw at us. However, we will take what you've said under careful consideration and we will do what we can to help this planet and then we will come to _Babylon_ _Five._ I will deal with President Clark and his people if they cause any problems. I understand that we can't contact _Enterprise_ and _Ambassador_ while they are in something called hyperspace."

"You're well informed," Sisko confessed. "I'm impressed. We have limited communications though a tachyon jump beacon but I can't get a message to them right at this moment. But I do have something to ask you. We have some Romulan prisoners here. Did they follow you somehow?" There had to be a connection.

"Romulans?" She understood. This had his characteristic fingerprints all over the place. "Is one of them a blond female?"

Sisko wasn't really surprised that Janeway knew who his prisoners were as the female called Sela had mentioned the Admiral several times. "Yes," he answered.

"Q."

"Who?"

"It's a long, long story which I will be happy to tell you about when we meet. They aren't prisoners, but quests onboard my ship. They were- hijacked, for lack of a better word. They are not the enemy. I want you to keep this channel opened for further information."

'Understood, Ma'am."

**The _Azetbur:_**

"They can't leave!" Captain Kagth roared indignantly. "We have not finished yet!"

The bloated enemy ships were disengaging from the fighting. The enemy combatants had done their damage and were now retreating. Kagth was in an absolute fury, such as never seen by his crew. The aliens who called themselves Drakh, were retreating after only five minutes of battle. That they were retreating was unimportant. That they were leaving was completely unacceptable to the Klingon Captain.

Something within him had snapped. As patient as he was, things he had kept within him came boiling to the surface. Kagth understood exactly what that something was. It was the one emotion he hated above all others.

-Helplessness.

It had begun with the female he had spoken to in another universe. "Yaquella of the family Tricie," he murmured. He cursed softly underneath his breath. Fool that he was; he hadn't even asked what the name of the planet was before he left. And with a shock, the Captain understood how deeply he had been affected. The Klingon Empire did not have the ability to help the woman's planet after the Imperixe had ravaged it. They could barely help themselves as the Cylon Armada had begun their push out of the Katasi stronghold and their secondary front. That was the last report received from the Empire before they went slipstream. Evidently the situation was bleak. _DS9_ was again a center of attention as the Cylons swarmed the system in order to gain control of the wormhole.

The leaders of the Dominion weren't fools and had now openly entered the war. They were actively confronting the Cylons. The entire Bajoran system was in jeopardy at last reports. The Federation, Klingons, what was left of the Romulan Star Empire, the Dominion, the Cardassian, the small Bajorian government defense force, and-Kahless save them all!-the Orions had banded together to resist the machine warriors. That his ship was missing one of the greatest wars of all time irked him to no end, until he met Yaquella.

He was wrapped up in the Cylon war until he met her and her people. The Cylons were an enemy he understood. Many of his fellow contemporaries thought that fighting machines was dishonorable, but he felt differently. The ruination war, as it was being referred to, was the cleanest war he'd ever had the honor to fight in. Literally, it was everybody against the rising tide of extermination. Nothing was more important than that, or so he thought. But his eyes had been opened. The Imperixe were worse than even the Borg. They were insidious, taking over the body, using it up until it was an empty shell to be discarded. Years ago, the Imperixe came so close to overrunning the Federation that he was angered even thinking about the implications. The Klingon Empire would have been next and they would not have been able to stop it.

He hated those creatures and what they did, and their potential. Then there was a new threat that eclipsed the others. Even if the Alpha quadrant survived the Cylon hordes, then the Sinhindrea were waiting to strike. War was a wonderful gift, but too much of it was insanity. This was Federation thinking, true; but he and many others were coming to see the value of it. Peace wasn't all that bad if you gave it a chance.

And that thought brought him back to reality and the present. That was the reason why he was so furious. These Drakh, who were clearly superior in technology to these human of this universe, were not content to simply defeat their enemy-they wanted to exterminate with biogenic weapons. Life meant suffering true, but it was the height of dishonor to exterminate a helpless enemy in such a fashion. Such an enemy needed to be destroyed-utterly. Janeway of course wouldn't agree but he was allied with her; not ruled over by her.

"They're opening some type of subspace vortex," Karlell yelled.

This was true, Vortices, like small wormholes were opening everywhere and the enemy sips were disappearing into them. In some ways it seemed as they are entering some form of stable, other dimensional space."

In other words, they were getting away.

"Fire!"

Weapons officer Klyn'g was more than happy to comply with his Captain's orders. A full sweep of torpedoes intercepted a group of fleeing raiders and a larger Drakh vessel headed towards the wormhole tear and vaporized them from existence. However, the majority of the enemy ships were quickly evacuating the area to live to fight another day.

Never.

"Probe," Kagth screamed in Klingon battle language. Immediately, Yannsi, the young female officer he was very rapidly becoming fond of, fired a sensor probe directly into one of the swirling bluish vortices. The sensor package transmitted valuable data back to the Azetbur. Yannsi wasted no time. The young Klingon and the two human Colonials stationed with her started their analysis on the unknown form of FTL drive employed by these dishonorable aliens.

Moments later she started speaking. "Unusual form of subspace...much higher wavelength...appears stable and movement is not required to remain in higher domain...other dimensional form of space. Energy currents and eddies detected."

"Can we follow them?"

"No, my Lord. Not yet, but we are calibrating our sensor array to detect traffic in this subspace realm."

"How long?"

She made a few calculations, confirming them with her fellow officers. Then she turned to her Captain. "Now," the young engineer said proudly. "We can attempt to enter this higher subspace in a few hours after we modify our deflector array. There appear to be similarities with slipstream activation."

The Captain smiled widely, sharpened teeth glistened. Her training in subspace, quantum slipstream mechanics and Colonial lightspeed (which meant the transwarp portion of it) served her well. "Cloak. Track and pursue," he ordered.

Smiling broadly, the helmsman analyzed the data being fed to him by the sensors and proceeded to follow the aliens at high warp. They couldn't attack yet but it was a matter of time.

Kagth intended to teach these cowards a lesson in terror.

One could never tell it by looking at him, but Ambassador Londo Mollari was shaking in his boots as the Minbari shuttle slowly eased past the massive doors of the Centauri _Primus_ Warship. The Centauri military Commanders were anxiously awaiting his arrival. With the explosive death of their Emperor and much of the command staff with him, they were essentially a headless entity. The rumors as to the cause of their leader's explosive demise were rampant. There were more than a few who assumed the Minbari were responsible for Cartagia's death; most had no idea. However, none of them were foolish enough to even consider firing on a Minbari ship-of-the-line.

The Centauri cautiously walked down the ramp towards the waiting delegation sent to meet them. Following him was a very imposing, very hostile-looking Rannaonn, Commander of the Minbari fleet. Two other Minbari followed in their wake. They were respectfully met by several of the Centauri defense force. Several members of the great houses were represented as well including a very nervous Lord Refa who, upon seeing Londo in the flesh, bowed deeply. Londo pointedly ignored him, causing the frightened Lord to flush, which was exactly what he had intended. Refa needed to be frightened. His life was hanging by the merest of threads now and he knew it. Londo intended to sever that thread with prejudice.

The procession adjourned to the conference center onboard the ship where Londo was seated in a place of honor with the Minbari Commander by his side.

With a touch of arrogance trying to cover for the fear he felt he began. "How many?" was his first question.

"We are not sure, the count is still uncertain," General Venir said. His eyes were darkened and red from the stress. "Many more are dying."

"And many, many more will die unless this meeting is successful," Rannaonn coldly announced to the assembled group. "Your people allied themselves with the Drakh and the ancient enemy. Millions of my people were killed by the attacks perpetrated by your allies by association, against the Minbari Federation. Our fleet is poised to take righteous retribution upon your planet and it will be laid waste. The only reason why you are still alive is because of the fact that there have been no direct attacks by the Centauri against us."

There was absolute silence within the room and at that moment Londo seized the opportunity to speak. "The Imperial Decar Palace, home of Emperor Cartagia has been blown into the heavens along with him, his family and a significant portion of our government. We are headless, without our government. We have made too many enemies among the very people we have to live with. The Drazi, Earth Alliance, _Babylon_ _Five_ resistance, the Federation, the Minbari; the list goes on and on. We have antagonized everyone and now a new enemy has surfaced and we have, as the Humans say, burned all of our bridges behind us." Looking intently at the sight of his world's cities on fire, he continued. "See the results of our quests for glory." There were tears in his eyes. It was a small reflection of the pain he was holding within. "We have conquered the Narn and for our reward we have almost destroyed our people. "We are alone and _'they'_ are coming."

His emotions flowed as freely as his tears now and Minbari Commander noticed that these hardened Centauri weren't as hardened as he believed. "Our quest for glory," Londo continued, "has left a bitter and most unsatisfying taste in our mouths."

"Londo," Lord Refa hissed. "You are just as responsible as we and the Emperor for all of this tragedy. You in fact began this when you first contacted Mr. Morden and his associates."

Londo's eyes blazed with anger now. "I freely admit my association with Morden," he said with distaste. "I was wrong and when I tried to stop it, it was far too late. People like you," he yelled, pointing a Refa, "ran to take my place to satisfy your own personal lusts for power and to gather favor with a madman. With their help we '_conquered_' the Narn," he laughed. He began changing hue as he remembered the shame he felt as his people used illegal mass-drivers to slaughter a defenseless people. "And I haven't forgotten what you did, Lord Refa."

Refa seemed perplexed, so Londo spelled it out. "You killed Adira, had her poisoned."

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped several degrees.

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"She is dead because of you," Londo said viciously.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Refa responded coldly. "And in any case it is irreverent. We need to deal with the situation in front of us. The Republic is in a most dangerous state. When I am acknowledged leader of the Centauri Republic, I will make the necessary changes to ensure our people's survival."

"No, you won't" Londo hissed. The others around him said nothing, being content watch the drama play itself out. "We will not have another madman in power. I will not allow our people to be placed under another petty dictator with delusions of power."

"Then, what would you suggest, Ambassador?" ask Refa. His voice fairly dripped with scorn as he mouthed the word '_ambassador',_ as if it were the filthiest word one could imagine.

To his credit, Londo didn't hesitate for a moment. "Immediately withdraw all of our military forces back into Centauri territory and begin serious negotiations with all of the governments we have attacked. In addition, all captured territories are to be given back, with our government to begin recompense as time allows."

The resultant uproar nearly deafened everyone in the room.

"And you call '_me'_ mad?" Refa screamed. "We will not surrender captured territory, especially not Narn territory. We will honor our agreements with the Minbari but Earth Alliance, _Babylon Five_ and the Federite ships have drawn Centauri blood. Earth's President is as mad as Cartagia was. He will not make any type of agreement. War is inevitable with them."

Londo quickly go up from his seat, crossed the room over to Refa and slapped him hard. "Who do you think just attacked our people right now!" he screamed at the livid Centauri. "It was _'them'_! the ones who are coming! They were testing our defenses here and we were found wanting. They know about us because of Cartagia's arrogance. He sent ships to Z'ha'dum to be modified to counter the Earther's shadow ships!"

Refa turned two shades of purple while the whelp that appeared on his face turned bright red. "How did you know?"

"I have my sources," he stated "While we were here squabbling, the real enemy has been consolidating their powerbase. I saw them winning against the Shadows. They withstood attacks that we can barely conceive of. All of the powers, both great and small are at risk. They will not discriminate when they come to slaughter us."

He looked around the table, his eyes spearing all of them with his gaze. "We have a responsibility to preserve our people. Our pride has caused us too much. We must act decisively, now. Lord Refa would have us go back to our folly and if we do we will be exterminated. At this very moment, the Minbari are poised to destroy us and here we are, arguing about whether to make peace with Earth! Refa is not the one we should depend upon. As I have suggested, we need leaders who can look forward to the future and lead us there; not wallow in past glories. Cartagia is gone. The Centauri people can do much better. We should follow the Earther's style," he said referring to _Babylon Five_. "They fail, but they keep trying, trying and trying. We are Centauri. Can we do any less?"

Refa would have none of it. "What you propose will destroy the Centauri people," he yelled. "We are the Centauri and we will not yield to the likes of the Humans!" Refa jumped up, eyes murderous; then abruptly stopped. The Centauri's eyes went wide as he slowly looked at the bloodstain forming in the middle of his chest. "Londo?"

He slumped bonelessly to the floor. Next to him was General Knonto Denarri. Evidently, it was his knife that was still implanted in Refa's dead body.

"Our world does indeed hang by a thread," he said slowly. "You're correct Ambassador Londo Mollari. It's time for something new. It's a time to be bold, something that has been lacking in our people. The elder Centauri turned to the others. "Withdraw all of our forces into Centauri territory. All hostile action is to cease immediately. Open negotiations with everyone, including _Babylon Five, _but not EarthGov-not yet. We will need to approach Earth Alliance carefully. The Narn," he said. "Withdraw whatever forces we have left in their territories. Londo, you will go to _B5_ and deal with the Humans and their allies there. We will contact _B5_ and request an immediate, unconditional secession of hostilities. You and an entourage of your own choosing will speak for the people. Complete authority will be yours. Do not abuse it," he sternly warned, not that he needed the warning. But the new leader of the Republic was making a point.

"Then," another General said carefully, "you are in charge?"

The man smirked. "I do not need or desire power. But I will wield it until we can establish our government once more. You all," he warned coldly, "will help me to reestablish what we have lost."

"So instead of a Republic we will now have a dictatorship?" General Venir asked. He couldn't keep the bitterness from his voice. Yet there was also an underlying tone of real agreement there as well.

Denarri returned the gaze. "Dictatorship?" he asked. "Yes," was his answer after thinking about it momentarily. "For now," he added. "If that is what is needed to keep our people from extinction, then so be it. You all know of my time in the royal political arena. I have survived the inner intrigues of Cartagia's court without losing my head, literally. I will become the dictator that Centauri needs. But I will be an enlightened dictator."

There were quiet mummers but no real objections. Denarri's proclamation had been accepted almost immediately. How long it would last, no one knew, but for now it would be acceptable compared to the alternatives.

He turned to the Minbari delegation. "Commander, we have much to discuss and much to recompense. I humbly ask that we use _B5_ for what it was intended to be as the details are defined and outlined between our two nations. I request that you send representatives here to Centauri Prime to formulate the basics of our talks. And as Londo has said, we have a common enemy intent on destroying us all. We must come together. You are aware of this new threat?"

Rannaonn looked at his aides trying to decide whether to answer or not. The last thing the Minbari Commander expected was to see history in the making. After a moment's thought, he spoke. "We are aware of this new threat. You are correct. There is much to discuss..."

For the first time in a long time Londo felt content. There would be a lot yelling, jostling for power and even an assassination attempt in the days to come. But it was just possible that something good would come from this. Only time would tell.


	29. Chapter 27 part 1

**_Dedicated to Maria: Ma, I will write you soon. Treat those kids well._**

**_Luis: I got chance to read your e-mail. Better this time. Try once more. Remember I want it specifically for TWS not Veneers. No preservers or anybody else we know. I want it unique, but not back to the beginning of time. The fact that you've given me what you have means that you do have the gift. That is why I am narrowing you down. Try again. _**

**_RenS_****_: Londo will be fairly happy under the current conditions. Things will change later._**

**_Thomas William Riker has yet to meet William Thomas Riker of the Enterprise-D. Worf and Worf; Commander Data and Lieutenant Commander Data, Tasha and Sela. Mr. and Mrs Tom Paris and young B'ellana. Oh, wow! And what about Deanna Garibaldi and Bester? I have a lot of work ahead of me. _**

**_Most of the comments I respond to in reviews, but you can e-mail me as well and I will comment during these postings…Thank you, ever so much people for commenting on my stories. Please keep them coming. _**

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**_Chapter Twenty-Seven Part 1_**

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**_"The One Side of the Coin"_******

**_(The Armageddon Conflict :)_****_ Part 3_**

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**_"Crisis Point"_**

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_Footnote in the History of the universe of Babylon Five: _

_The historians studying the Armageddon conflict had many reasons to rank President Clark one of the greatest traitors in Earth's history. Without benefit of his advisors or Psi-Corps, he was also considered one of the more incompetent leaders that Earth had produced in two hundred years. Evidence of his incompetence was his decision to order Captain Jake Thompson to attack _Voyager_ immediately after the Drakh attack that spread the Shadow plague across Earth. The Federation starship came to Earth's aid, but __Clark__ saw this as an opportunity to gain power and he went for it. _

_At the very least it was an ill-conceived plan that would have completely destroyed Earth __Alliance__ as a power in the galaxy. The resistance forces in the area were prepared to defend _Voyager_ to the death. The resultant battle would have doomed EarthForce as a viable entity. The worse case scenario was that _Voyager_ would be destroyed (unlikely, given Janeway's unique answer to the __Clark__ dilemma); and with that destruction any chance that the plague could have been stopped in time to save the population would have been lost. __Clark__'s impulsiveness caused him to act too soon in threatening Earth with the G.O.D.s. That mistake cost him his already flattering powerbase and his life. That same impulsiveness caused Morden to tip his hand too soon by trying to stop in _Voyager_ from assisting against the plague his associates engineered. That conflict attracted the Sinhindrea to Earth much sooner than anyone could have predicted. _

_Unknown to everyone, the Sinhindrea were 'hunting' the creatures (_Voyager, _the _Azetbur_ and the _Rantoul_) who surprise attacked them near the Z'ha'dum gateway. The loss of several vessels to the same species of aliens (by the _Enterprise_ and the Earth alliance ships _Revere_ and _Hera)_ who were also in association with the Shadows as demonstrated by the Advanced Destroyers near Centauri Prime) made them targets to be destroyed. It marked the beginning of the darkest period in Earth's history. And what happened to Earth served as a horrific template for all of the major powers._

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**_White Star Three:_**

Captain Hiroshi's heart skipped a beat when she saw the damage inflicted on battered hull of the USS _Enterprise_. The saucer section now sported a huge gaping wound from a shot that penetrated through both sides of the hull. The characteristic bluish glow emanating from the port nacelle was simply a rapid flutter now. She was flanked by two _Omegas_, one resistance and one loyalist, both of whom seemed determined to protect her at any cost. And at point was one of the rarely seen _Explorer_ ships, the _Cortez_ looking majestic as ever.

_White Star Three_ slowly flew between the two _Omegas_ as she performed a detailed analysis of the starship. The _Ambassador_ was about three klicks distant doing the same thing. She gasped at the power required to penetrate the shields of the galaxy-class ship and a moment later, it was confirmed that the weapons used were Sinhindrea-based. Like so many others, she had sub-consciously believed that the starships were almost invincible and to see the _Enterprise_ in such terrible shape just made that impending danger all the more real.

This is the _Hera_ to _White Star._"

"This is Captain Hiroshi. Thank you for your assistance."

"The _Enterprise_ and the _Revere_ saved us. We were more than happy to return the favor," the Captain graciously replied. "There are reports that Earth has been attacked by the Drakh and we're needed there. We're leaving escort to you now, but there is vital information that _Babylon 5,_ Earth Alliance and the others need to know. These aliens don't use jumpspace. They have no need to use jumpgates and they are destroying them. If they destroy enough of them then everyone's going to be crippled to some extent. They're run all over us."

Hiroshi was still reeling from the first report. "Earth was attacked?"

"A short while ago," the Captain confirmed. "It's bad."

"I won't hold you. Good luck."

"Thank you. Captain Elizabeth Lochley, out." The _Hera_ turned gracefully and headed towards Earth.

"Prepare to transport the medical staff and myself to the _Enterprise_."

"Yes, Ma'am." The transporter officer gulped. He had never used it himself and hopefully never would. But it was still a nice thing to have.

**USS _Enterprise_:**

Sandra Hiroshi and several of her medical crew materialized in the transporter room and were immediately struck by the devastation. The room was in shambles. Two of the main computer systems were all but destroyed and there were ugly scorch marks on the walls. Quickly she led her crew out and was met by Commander William Riker. After taking carefully inventory she, very unprofessionally as one of her crew pointed out, jumped into his arms. The man promptly hit the floor and the petite woman almost fainted. She saw his overall condition-disheveled hair, a small gash in his scalpline and the slight limp-but she had not taken into consideration the seriousness of his injuries. None of that stopped her from giving him the biggest bear-hug anyone had ever seen.

"Will, what happened?" she demanded while looking into her eyes to confirm that he was really okay.

"We won," he whispered. "But they hurt us. We have to let the others know. Their weaponry is at least as strong as the Shadows. We-all of us, will have to prepare."

That was an unwelcome bit of news. "How's Captain Picard?"

"He was injured but Dr Crusher is good. She has him sedated; however he should be awake at any time. And I believe that Captain Garret is with him now."

"Well, we're here to escort you to _B5_," she whispered in tones that conveyed that nothing else would happen to him unless it was over her dead, dead body. "A lot's happened since you were out. Earth was attacked by the Drakh. I want to talk to Picard as soon as I can."

"Follow me," he said. Turning smartly he limped towards medical bay…

**SICKBAY:**

The first thing that Jean-Luc saw was Rachel's dark brown eyes staring back at him. He actually smiled Beverly noticed, as she moved to attend another wounded patient. She was happy for him. It was good that the two of them had found one another, even if it took another universe for them to do so.

"I am glad you didn't decide to drop dead, Jean-Luc," Rachel whispered. He almost looked sexy in that medical garb. She'd talk about that later. "I would have been very angry at you."

"I think I will stay around a little longer," he whispered back. His ribs hurt. Dr. Crusher had told him that he had broken four of them along with his arm and both legs. Even medicated, he felt terrible. But she was here and irreverently, he felt better for it. "The _Ambassador_?" he murmured. He couldn't speak that much as his throat was still raw.

"She's fine," she said. "But I have some bad news. Earth is being attacked by the Drakh. It's a very large strike force and at last reports, EA wasn't doing too well against them."

"Are the Centauri involved as well?" He was rewarded by aa sober shaking of Rachel's head. "Then there is nothing we can do," he sighed. "You know that they will come after _B5_ next and we have to prepare. We are going to have to give them full access to our weapons technology. But the Minbari and even the Narn will become the first defense against this new enemy." He hated to say that but this encounter with the Sinhindrea had convinced him once and for all that this had become a choice between the Prime Directive and survival.

"I know," she said solemnly. "The Prime Directive is about to be tossed into the wind." With that omission she, strangely she had to admit, finally acknowledged that they had officially slipped head first down that slippery path and there was no going back. "I pray that we are doing the right thing."

"The Prime Directive are rules designed to keep the Federation from interfering in another's culture." Picard ruefully shook his head. "We have abandoned one of our last ties to our universe."

"No," Rachel responded. "They are guidelines, not unbendable rules. They're being constantly redefined and that is what we're doing right now," she said with absolute conviction. "I will not let everyone die because I choose not to interfere with their natural development while they are being slaughtered. The Sinhindrea are vicious. We've both seen this. We're here now-let's deal with it."

Both of them were silent now, each wrapped up in their own thoughts, and truth be told in each other, providing and receiving comfort.

For Picard this was indeed foreign territory. For so long he had focused on his duty to the Federation and Starfleet. The Klingons had been responsible for the deaths of tens of billions and he and his ship, _Enterprise_, were the first line of defense against barbaric savagery. He didn't have time for a personal life and that was the price he willingly paid for having the job of protecting those he loved. Now, he wasn't so sure if the path he'd chosen was the best. The presence of Rachel was an eye-opener, especially since she was so completely contrary to everything he knew Starfleet to be. Sometimes the lack of closeness took too much of a toll. And the toll had increased. The entity called Q had told him that this galaxy was doomed and there was nothing he or anyone could do about it. The presence of the Sinhindrea meant that he now looked at those words in a new light. But he also told him that there was a way out.

With this information, the question now became, should he and his crews search for a way out as the entity has indicated; or should he stay and condemn his people to death? Which was more important-his universe or this one? There was a time when he could have answered that question immediately, without the slightest doubt. But things had changed. His perception had changed and more importantly, his connection with this reality had changed. It was stronger. It felt right and it felt natural. It was as if the old universe was disconnecting itself from him and his crew, and that this one was accepting him like a transplanted organ accepted by its new owner. If that were true, then did he dare to allow this severing to continue? What if Sisko had been wrong and this Q entity right? He had never spoken to Garret about this. Only Guinan had been privy to that information and she seemed skeptical. Maybe it was time to tell her and the senior staff.

A few moments later, the interlude was interrupted by the appearance of an Ensign who quickly appeared next to the two Captains. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she said quickly. The comm-badge system hadn't been repaired yet. "But we have a priority call from the _B5_ station."

"Wonderful. Probably more bad news. Patch it through."

Captain Sheridan appeared on the small computer console next to him. "We're putting through a call you really need to take Captain," he said quickly. "Is Captain Garrett there?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Good. Hold for a moment…"

His face disappeared and in his place stood a woman. She was a little older than Rachel with brunette hair that appeared to be graying a bit at the temples. The woman reeked of command presence but at the same time there was a matronly persona that surrounded her; one even stronger than Rachel's. But what shocked them was the uniform she wore. It was similar, but not quite like anything either one of them had ever seen. But it was nevertheless unmistakably Federation designed.

"Hello, Captain Picard, Captain Garrett," the woman said in a husky voice. "I'm Admiral Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship _Voyager_. It is good to see you."

At first neither of the Captains spoke. It had to be some type of trick. It was too much of a shock. That response was something that the Admiral had expected. So she continued speaking as if nothing was going on.

"I realize that is somewhat of a shock, and that's an understatement. However, I assure you that this is not a deception," she said as she raised both hands as if lecturing to students. "Starfleet command is aware of your 'special' circumstances by which you came to this place. I know you have a thousand questions and I promise that all of this will be explained to you when we arrive at _Babylon Five_."

"Admiral," Picard said cautiously. He was trying to get used to that word. "Where are you at this moment?" His voice fairly dripped with suspicion. "How did you get here?"

Evidently Janeway noticed and became a touch more formal. "Presently, we're in Earth Orbit. The planet was attacked by a species called the Drakh. They have inflicted terrible damage throughout the system and have used some type of biogenic weapon against the planet. Earth is under total quarantine. My medical teams are working on the problem and we are in close contact with President Clark of Earth Alliance. As to how we got here; we arrived here by way of a gateway created by a species called the Vorlons. There was a problem however. The gate has been compromised by a species called the Yonji Sinhindrea, native to our universe. Captain Garrett, I am sending you the authentication codes for the USS _Enterprise_-C. Captain Picard," Janeway continued. "I will send the codes to you as well, however I am not sure of their value to you as you have been somewhat displaced in realities as well as in time."

That bit of information completely surprised him. "You are aware of this?"

"I am aware of a lot of things, Captain, much of which I will not share over an open channel. Obviously hyperspace and subspace are not quite compatible for communication purposes. Our people are working on it even as we speak. I will see you in five days. When you exit hyperspace contact me on Starfleet channel twenty-two. We have a lot to talk about. Right now I have a meeting with the President."

"The man is not to be trusted, Admiral."

"Thank you for the warning," she said kindly. "Everyone we've spoken with has said the same thing. We'll be prepared. For now we'll keep in contact via _Babylon Five_ comms. I have already spoken to Captain Sisko and I look forward to meeting all of you."

"Acknowledged, Admiral."

After taking a couple of moments to recover, Rachel smiled at him with that familiar dubious smile of hers he'd become so used to. It also served to cover the threatened bubbly part of her nature to come boiling to the surface. "How long do you think it will take before everyone on both ships have the registry number of _Voyager _memorized?"

His smirk was equally understated. "My estimation is six minutes."

"That's much longer than mine."

_'We are not alone'_ he thought jubilantly. "I believe it is time to get what's left of my ship back to _B5_."

**_EarthSpace_******

A bead of sweat found its way down the nose of President Clark and it wasn't due to the heat in the ship; indeed it was rather cold on _Earth Force Once_. It was because his mind was racing. If this bold plan worked then it would be the defining point in his career. In twenty-five minutes the Federation delegation was going to meet with him and his most trusted aides. When that happened, then for the first time Clark would have the opportunity to acquire hostages. None of the others would be in the position to help them and if they dared to use their transporters to escape, then his people had orders to shoot them immediately. Their ship would bring back charred corpses.

Of course, this action would very likely mean his death, but gambles like this always demanded high stakes. As of now the three remaining black _Omegas_-not including his traitorous cousin's-were positioned so that they could, if needed, fire instantly on the alien starship. Several other EA ships were also positioned to give backup support if the smaller ship entered the fray. This entire plan was an act of desperation, but if he succeeded…

And if he couldn't persuade them then no one would be a winner here. The fight would be brutal; but either way, Sheridan and his cohorts would lose everything attacking the legitimate EarthDome government. Insurrection could be added to the long lists of the Resistances' traitorous acts.

"We'll meet in the crew's mess hall," he ordered. "There are only two ways in, two ways out and it is situated in the most secured area of the ship. The Shadow armor will interfere with their transporters."

"Are you sure, Sir?" Thompson asked. "If they can transport faster than we can hit them, then we'll lose the hostages and our main advantage."

"Our scientists have told me that it takes at least seven seconds for their transporters to complete the cycle. They also assure me that the communication badges must be active before they can get a lock on their people," Clark noted with some satisfaction. "That is our window." It was plenty of time.

"What if they can help us with whatever the Drakh has infected Earth with? Thousands are going to die."

"Don't be a fool," he hissed. "That's Shadow technology. Earth is already dead. Nothing can save them. It's a waste of valuable resources to try."

Thompson said nothing and even managed to hide his surprise at Clark's knowledge about the aliens. Normally rock-solid in his devotion to the Presidency, his found himself beginning to worry about the state of his leader's mind.

He had family on Earth, too.

**USS _Voyager_:**

"Commander Data, what have you got?"

As Captain Chakotay and Admiral Janeway peered over his shoulders, the android's hands flew over the console with a speed that would shame a concert pianist. "The outer armor of _Earth Force One_ is composed of a pseudo organic polymer which is superior to the standard metal -based armor used by most of the other vessels. I estimate that it would take an additional fifteen percent more power to penetrate the protective shell. This makes it comparable to the rather thin ablative coating found on Cylon destroyers. The ship has no shields and no gravity generating capability. It took our sensors an additional five point three seconds to penetrate the outer layers of the ship. Once the initial parameters were established, we were able to easily penetrate the ship's hull. This pseudo-organic layer has characteristics similar to other organic lifeforms that Starfleet has encountered in the past. However, this material being crude synthetic imitation, is in fact inferior to those space-born organisms. I believe that this is EarthForce's attempt at replicating a synthetic analog of the original material they have encountered. They have succeeded in producing a viable if somewhat inferior product."

"But it is impressive that they were able to achieve a useful product."

"On the contrary, the material is highly carcinogenic and is deadly to living organisms. Although used as an outside protective layer, the crew will be affected if they continue to serve onboard for more than seven months."

Both officers were shocked. "Surely they must realize the danger they're in?"

"Maybe not, Captain. If there have been no long-term studies performed on the product they may be unaware of the side effects. It is also possible that they may not have been told of the inherent dangers of serving onboard that ship," Data said.

"How much of a threat is this vessel to us?"

"At this range, _Voyager_ would be able to resist a full scale assault for eight minutes without active shields and only ablative armor. If _Voyager_ is fully defensive, then we could withstand twenty minutes of continuous fire before we would have to retreat from the area. I believe that it is prudent to mention that their targeting systems require three seconds before they would be able to lock onto our ships. Also, our metaphasic shielding effectively renders us invisible to their sensors."

"I want detailed scans, Commander."

"The scans have already been completed, Admiral."

"Mr. Worf, I would like for you to complete preparations as we have discussed. You and Mr. Data have twenty minutes."

"Yes, Ma'am," Worf said as both officers left to bridge.

"Admiral Janeway due to the current crisis I only have a small window in which to speak to you. I would like for you to transport over to _Earth Force One_. I would like to see this amazing device that I've heard so much about in action. I would visit your ship, but my advisors feel that it would be more comfortable for the people, if you and your people came to my ship."

"Thank you, Mr. President," the Admiral said in her most gracious tone. "My Captain and two of my assistants well beam over in fifteen minutes. We are looking forward to meeting you in person."

"As am I. And please call me Morgan. I also want to than you for offering your assistance in helping our wounded. Your shuttles and their capabilities are magic. You've saved many of my people."

"Again, it's in our charter to help those in need of help."

"The President's smile widened. "I'm sure," he said ever so pleasantly. "In fifteen minutes. Oh, Admiral, I forgot to ask. Can you scan my ship? I want to give you directions where to beam to."

"Most of our scans are being reflected back," she lied. "However if you place some sort of energy source in the area you wish us to beam to, then we can use it as a beacon to help out targeting scanners."

He smiled even more. "It will be done." Nodding, he cut the channel.

"He smiles a lot, doesn't he?" Chakotay said to Kathryn.

"That smile made him look like a Ferengi in heat," Tom Paris mentioned offhandedly.

"Be respectful, Tom," chastised the Admiral. "He is the President of this government. But you're right. He does seem less than trustworthy. Have both of the _Cobras_ launched?"

"Yes, Ma'am," rumbled Worf. "They are performing rescue operations as needed and are aware that we may 'require' their help should your plan not work out. Lieutenant Commander Riker is performing a similar duty near the edge of the system."

"We've thrown the bait out," the Admiral said, satisfied. "Let's see if we can catch anything." She touched her combadge: "Commander Data, is everything ready?"

"I have completed detailed scans of the ship and programmed them into the computer. Arrangements will be complete in six minutes.

**Earth Force One:**

_"Mr. President, with your permission, we'll beam over now." _

"Understood, _Voyager_. You may begin." Clark licked his lips. He wanted to see this. Like so many others he'd been told about it but few of them really knew what to expect. But the thought of converting matter to energy and back again in its original form excited him. When he had heard of the food replicator onboard the _Enterprise_, he had obsessed about it.

Now, the Admiral and her staff were coming and he and his staff waited nervously. The first thing the President and his staff heard was a strange-unearthly whine that filled the air. The air itself tingled with power and Clark found that he was a bit giddy by the experience. Points of lights appeared, pulsating as though alive, rapidly changing into a shimmering blue humanoid ghost-image. That blue light turned into living, breathing individuals, the entire process taking eight seconds. As with millions upon millions of others, seeing a transporter in action was a staggering, breath-taking sight.

Three people had transported onto his ship. Admiral Janeway was at the head, a little shorter than he expected. There was what he thought was a dark-skinned Vulcan with her and another alien. That alien was the strangest of all. It-he was blue with antennae! This woman surrounded herself with aliens just as Picard had. That made him frown; for appearances sake.

Not that he really cared one way or the other. The truth was, aliens didn't bother him. In fact they have been extremely useful as scapegoats. People were so gullible. Give them a convenient target to blame their woes and problems on and they were like attack dogs. Hitler had learned this long ago, not that Morgan would ever compare himself to that madman. Nevertheless he did have some interesting methods and they still worked three hundred years later. Maybe Hitler did hate Jews, but he loved the power that hatred gave him even more. The Earth-Minbari war had helped him more than anyone had imagined. He was able to mold that fear and hatred into something that he could use. And there were thousands of people willing to follow his cause. Even Thompson was loyal-not to him, but to the office he represented. That blind obedience was also very useful-such as now.

"Admiral Janeway. On behalf of the Earth Alliance I want to thank you for everything that you've done for us."

"On behalf of the Federation, you're welcomed," she said. "This is Commander Tuvok, First Officer and lieutenant Commander Sondrar. I understand that this is a difficult time, Mr. President. But we are here to offer our services in any way we can so that we can help combat the plague infecting you planet."

"Thank you," Clark said. "This is Captain Jake Thompson and my first advisor, Nicholi Androvich Christov and those people are my security. They're there to insure my safely," he said. Perilous times, you understand."

Thompson nodded quickly. "If you will excuse me, this ship demands my attention at this moment. It was good to meet you, Admiral."

"Yes, Captain," Janeway said evenly. "I hope we meet again," she added as he walked through the doorway.

"Security is to be expected," she said evenly. "These are perilous times. My medical staff is at your disposal."

Clark nodded as Thompson exited the room. "I'm very glad to hear that, Admiral," he whispered. "But I have a question? What can your people possibly do to defeat the power of a species that walked the universe a million years before mankind was conceived of? The Drakh derived their technology from a species call Shadows. Their technology is beyond our imagination and your ability to do anything about it, so why try?"

Sondrar looked perplexed. "Granted, if what you say may be true, there is no harm in trying. Billions of lives are at risk. The Federation has encountered a lot of exotic diseases in our travels. We may be able to help."

"Your people have helped me enough already," the President harshly answered. He was no longer trying to hide his anger now. "Ask Picard and Garrett what they've done to help."

Clark noticed the Admiral's eyes narrow at his retort. "I guess this meeting is over," she told him.

"Don't touch your badges, or my men will fire," he announced triumphantly. Clark's security had their weapons pointed at the surprised Federation Officers. They quickly removed their weapons, com badges and anything else the trio carried. Now, for a change, he was back in control.

"I don't know what your true purpose is here, in our space," he said. "But I can guess. You people have destabilized this entire area of space. You've fermented rebellion and sedition in Earth Alliance. You've destroyed EA ships and killed thousands of loyal citizens. You've participated in the theft of Earth Gov property and consorted with traitors. You've started the war with the Centauri and Drakh against my government. Your people have spread lies about my administration."

"Your Captains Picard and Garrett have caused more damage to EarthForce than anything in our collective memories," Chistov added. "I believe that you and your so-called government has done this as a prelude to invasion of our territories."

"Gentlemen-"

"Admiral," Clark hissed, cutting her off. "Do not try to continue the lies that you're from another universe. No one here believes you. We've had ships back-tracking the _Enterprise_ and _Ambassador's_ trajectories and we found the Klingon derelict. It didn't survive the long journey from wherever you come from." He moved closer to a fuming Janeway, almost nose-to-nose. "You intend to invade us and we intend to stop you."

"We have no intentions o invading your territories, Mr. President. Our non interference policy-"

"-Has been broken more times than I can count," retorted Clark. "Earth is doomed. But I have you and that means that I have your ship."

"Captain Chakotay will not succumb to blackmail," the Admiral answered hotly.

"Maybe he will, or maybe he won't," Clark countered. "But it doesn't matter. Right now your vaulted shields are down and your crew is too busy trying to help us," he sneered. Strangely, the Admiral didn't seem intimidated. So, she had strength which meant that he'd have to kill one of her subordinates to put the fear of Clark in her. "My warships have you in our sights. They will cripple you before your crew has a chance to defend themselves."

"Contrary to your beliefs, Mr. President, we don't need your territory," she said evenly. There wasn't a trace of fear in her voice."

To the side Christov's forehead started getting moist. Something was wrong. She and her officers were too confident. He'd seen Picard act the same before he revealed that awesome energy matter replication. Next to him, Commander Grissom was nervous as well. Their President had pushed too hard and way too fast.

"Admiral." Christov's voice was low. "Instead of destroying your ship and taking what's left of it, perhaps we can strike some sort of deal. Call it a recompense for all of the damage your people have done to our society."

"We don't give out our technology to aggressive species."

"But we're human."

"Mr. Christov," Tuvok began. "Your President is not concerned about the billions of people under his charge. That is not logical. You cannot be trusted with the responsibly our technology would give you. Your attitude is too provincial, too narrow-minded to be a good public servant."

"The Federation does not acquire territory by conquest. Besides, if we wanted this area of space, you wouldn't be able to stop us," Sondrar added. "Not with your level of technology."

Clark's face flushed bright red. "That very attitude will destroy your Federation when they come here, because we will be ready, starting right now. Surrender your ship now. I have soldiers awaiting my orders. No one will be hurt. I promise."

The three Federation officers glanced at one another.

They didn't believe them for a second.

TBC

This chapter is to be continued.


	30. Chapter 27 part 2

_**Chapter Twenty-Seven Part B**_

"**_The One Side of the Coin"_**

_**(The Armageddon Conflict :) Part 3**_

"**_Crisis Point"_**

**Colonial _Cobras_- Sol system:**

A group of Starfuries rushed by two Colonial fighter-bombers on their way to dock with a nearby _Nova_. Several had actually slowed down a bit to get a closer view of the two very large, delta-wing craft as they passed by.

Both _Cobras_ were on slow maneuvers scanning nearby space for any signs of human life. There were lots of escape boats floating around and a surprising number of free-floaters-pilots whose fighters had been damaged or destroyed. Those ejected pilots had a limited amount of air left, and many were wounded. As such those men and women were designated priority pickups. Several had been picked up and beamed over to the nearest EA vessel, much to the consternation of the crews. Each _Cobra_ had been retrofitted with one transporter pad, and the devices were being put to good use. In spite of the good will being generated by more than grateful pilots, the two Colonial commanders were anything but relaxed.

"You're still on report, Lieutenant," Boxey hissed through the comms system. "If you're nice and follow orders I may allow you a little bit of freedom in about two weeks. Until then you will be confined to quarters."

"Sir," said a very respectful, very chastened Joliet. "I am aware of my error and I will never disobey the orders of my commanding officer."

"You could have gotten yourself and your crew killed," he continued on ignoring his young subordinates supplications. "I have no intentions of explaining to my father and grandfather and Sheba and Starbuck and the dozens of others why you got yourselves killed because you felt the need to pursue some stupid stunt. You know better. Therefore, unless it's militarily related, don't even talk to me until I tell you to."

"Yes, Sir."

"I'm getting life signs from that derelict over their-three microns from our position. Let's swing over there and take a look."

"By your command, Sir."

"Joliet, you are really pushing it," he growled.

-----

Christov was actively sweating now. Clark was allowing his emotions to interfere with his logic. If he provoked these people further, there was no telling where this might end. This was a foolish, unprofitable gambit. Earth desperately needed assistance from everywhere and everyone. Even he could see that. Only a fool couldn't see that humanity was on the brink of extermination-again. But Clark didn't care and as loyal as Christov was, where did he draw the line for himself? The Admiral decided to respond and it drew him back into the conversation.

"Before this goes any further, "Janeway was saying, "I would like to show you what you're committing your forces to. Lieutenant Sondrar would you describe _Voyager_?"

"With pleasure," the blue alien female said. She slowly faced a contemptuous but a nevertheless very curious Clark. "The USS _Voyager_ is a _Sovereign_ class starship, the newest and most powerful currently developed by the United Federation of Planets. Our ship is a _Sovereign_ variant, twenty meters larger, designed for detailed exploration and the testing new technologies in addition to being a warship. This particular vessel has the newest weaponry that Starfleet has to offer with the capability to engage and defeat simultaneous attacks from three Cylon _Devastator_-class assault ships and defend itself against an _Extreme_-class Cylon Basestar. A type-nine pulse-phaser array is its main short-ranged beam weapon, supported by the newer, more destructive iso-magnetic disintegrator cannons. There are other weapons' systems but you wouldn't understand my explanation," she added sarcastically to a fascinated but slightly nervous Clark and company. Both antennae curled slightly, then pointed directly at the President.

"_Voyager_ will automatically detect any weapons lock-on and 'Threat-Intelligence' will protect the ship. Combat sensors will lock on the threat and it will be eliminated if the Captain chooses to do so. _Voyager_ can lock onto and fire on thirty-two independent targets simultaneously with an array of weaponry. If you somehow manage to achieve first strike, your ships would not survive our retaliatory response. Federation technology has been developed over three hundred years and is still continuing. This simply means that at your current level technical understanding," she said with obvious contempt, "would barely allow you to scratch the surface in terms of understanding our ship. Contrary to your beliefs, it would take decades for your scientists to understand and exploit the technologies on _Voyager_. If we went to war with your people, it would be a very short one. The Bajoran militia could crush your fleet by themselves," she finished. She was treating them like children and they knew it. The Lieutenant's entire demeanor dripped of sarcasm and scorn.

By the way Clark was looking at the woman, Christov was sure that the President had chosen the first person he would kill. He felt intimidated and that was not something he took well these days.

"All that sounds impressive," he said to the blue alien female. "But as long as I have you, I have control of your ship. Your Captain will hesitate, not wanting to fire on the official ship of the Head-of-State. And if I press this," he announced, slowly brushing his finger over a rather large green button, "every vessel will immediately fire on your ship. Superior technology or not, all of that destructive power will wreck your starship before it has a chance to defend itself." His head turned from the smoldering lieutenant to the Admiral. "I am the one in control here. Have them surrender peacefully. Save your ship and your crew."

Janeway shook her head slowly. "How did you become President?"

"We needed someone with a vision. I had that vision."

"You must have a rather limited 'vision'," the one called Tuvok responded. "Your actions are proving that, even now."

The President smiled coldly and Christov shivered. "The time for vision is over," he heard the President say. "The time for action is now." His fingers moved towards the button.

"Sir," Christov heard himself say, "please don't."

"You have less control than you believe," Janeway said.

"All or nothing," Clark countered.

"It won't work."

"Let's see."

He pressed the button.

Click.

Nothing happened.

Surprised and angry he pressed it several times. There should have been a responding beep. Surprised, he glared at Janeway. "What have you done?"

"Simply showing you that in this case, control is an illusion," the Admiral said. "You see, we're not on your ship." The Admiral folded her arms and her lip curled into a half smirk.

"You're on mine."

---

Earth's solar system began filling with EF ships of all descriptions. Both Loyalists and Resistance ships cruised past one another, weapons hot. Tension was extremely high but so far there had been no shooting. Colonel Paul Griffin felt encouraged by that fact. Too much had just happened and no one wanted to start fighting after an attack of this magnitude. The _Evanston_ had just transitioned in the area and were now vectoring towards him.

"Captain Drake," he said quickly. "Pick us up."

The _Omega_ slowed and picked the lifeboat carry the Colonel and several other crewmembers. A few minutes later, both men stood on the bridge surveying the carnage.

"Our scanners picked up the _Enterprise_," Drake said. "It's in Earth orbit now. Power configuration's different now."

"That's not _Enterprise_, Captain. "It's another Federation ship called _Voyager_."

Drake stifled a curse. "What's it doing here? They lied to us," and to his surprise, he felt somewhat disappointed.

Griffin shook his head. "We don't know all of the facts yet. But they helped stop the Drakh."

"What do you think Clark-"

It was another one of those questions that would never be completed as a gold channel combat alert was issued taking both men and their crew by shock.

Captain Jake Thompson, Clark's right hand man, had ordered all Earth Alliance ships to advance on and, on his command disable or destroy _Voyager_.

Drake looked at Griffin. There was mixture of confusion and more than a hint of fear on his face. The Colonel had gone pale.

_Now what? _

_-----_

Captain Leonard Anderson thought the exact same thing as his exec confirmed the order. The _Charon_ had been nearly torn to pieces by Drakh fire. A full third of his crew was dead or injured and now they were preparing to attack a vessel that had came to their aid? And what about Earth? The Drakh had did something, sensors had picked up that much. What about his wife and daughter? What had _Voyager_ done in order for him to start another war on the very heels of this disaster?

"Transmit this, Lieutenant. EA destroyer _Charon_ is unable to comply with order. The ship has been damaged and is not combat worthy." Anderson hesitated for a second, then added, "request a tow to the nearest recovery center."

"Acknowledged _Charon_. You're sixteenth in line."

The Captain breathed a sigh of relief. Now he had to find out what was going on.

-----

Frightened, his emotions took over. "Shoot," Clark howled, pointing at the Starfleet officers. His four guards immediately attacked. All of the weapons misfired. Undaunted, the guards attacked the Federation officers-and stumbled through holographic images.

"No-" Clark whispered. He turned and ran towards the door while his security guards were still trying to understand what was happening. "This can't be!" They were holograms. But they looked and acted so completely, so stunningly lifelike. He grabbed the door handle twisting the access handle. The door didn't budge. He was completely trapped.

"President Clark," a disembodied voice said. "I am disappointed at your actions."

"Release me."

"I don't have time for your petty political squabbles," Janeway's voiced boomed. "Earth's very existence stands in the balance and you are attempting to begin another war. You need to understand what you're dealing with."

_Arrogant_- Clark stood defiant when suddenly everything went black. From his left, there was a horrified gasp. The air around him had suddenly become ice cold and he felt nauseated. He found himself suddenly tumbling amidst a sea of stars. His security floated with him in the void, hysterical and terrified, desperately blowing the air from their lungs and covering their eyes with their hands to keep the from either freezing or exploding. Earth was in front of him floating in the void. The Federation whore had spaced him.

He screamed, adding his voice to others.

---

A few moments later, Clark and the others realized that they weren't going to die. He could still breath. The entire experience was a terrifyingly effective trick. It had to be the holodeck that he'd heard so much about. But as the mind understood it, the rest of his body refused to accept it. It shivered with the expectation of death.

Again he heard what was becoming a truly hated voice.

"Prepare yourselves."

There was a horrifying sensation of rushing through the vastness of space unaided until he reached a dark, foreboding planet. He knew what planet it was. Z'ha'dum. For an instant, he thought he and his people would slam into the planet (that really wasn't there or so his mind kept telling him), but then their direction curved and helplessly they were pushed along past the planet. There was a sensation of movement. Stars moved; becoming blurs. G forces ripped at his body; a circle of radiance surrounding him.

All motion ceased, the group finding themselves in front of an enormous artifact. It glowed with a power that he felt penetrate his very bone. Clark understood this to be an illusion, however his body was completely on autopilot. All he could do was watch as alien ships like nothing he or EarthForce had ever seen continually exited the artifact. The ships had power-sources shaped like huge energy bubbles attached to their rear. The smaller ships reminded him of ocean squid of different sizes. All of them looked supremely menacing. One of those smaller ships approached him, its tentacles beginning to glow. He could see some indescribable alien inside the cockpit, looking directly at him. Clark's eyes budged as one of the ships came close enough to touch him...

The imaged changed and they found themselves in a cubical room. Exhausted, nearly frozen and in no condition to resist, Clark and his people slumped to the floor.

-----

"Captain Thompson is hailing us, Captain."

"Open."

"What you have done will be considered as an act of war! Return the President and our people or you will force us to attack with everything at our disposal!" He was livid and embarrassed that the people under his responsibility had been so completely and easily compromised. The moment he had left, the President and his staff had been transported to _Voyager_. And his people hadn't even noticed it until after the fact. Evidently the need for a power-source to lock on to was a ruse. And President Clark's orders were clear. "You have ten minutes."

Chakotay studied the man as if he were a microbe. "President Clark intended to kidnap Admiral Janeway and others of our party. That," he said, "can be interpreted as an act of war, Captain Clark."

"Ten minutes," Thompson repeated.

The channel closed abruptly.

"Red alert," he ordered. "Begin targeting solutions."

"Aye, Sir," Worf announced coldly.

-----

Clark and the others were just getting up when they turned toward one of the walls behind them. There had been a gentle whirling sound, which caught their attention. It was the opening of a door. Five people walked in. Three of them he knew, and two security guards carrying very large rifles of some type accompanied them.

"Please don't worry," the Admiral said looking at the puddles on the floor. "The ship cleans itself."

Clark speared her with a look of raw, unfettered hatred. "Release me," he stammered.

"No," she answered. "You need to understand that we aren't the enemy here. The ones you should be worrying about are at the gates ready to break the door down, trying to get in. This little demonstration, while a bit dramatic, illustrates just how precarious your situation is. We've offered medical help and you've refused. We've helped you in your fight against the Drakh and you've tried to kidnap us for our technology," she growled. "Your fleet has just survived a devastating attack, thousands have been killed and injured and now you're prepare to begin the fighting again simply to sooth your pride."

"Who do you think you are!" Clark screamed at her. "You have no right telling me what I can or can't do, human traitor! You will release me or every ship from Earth orbit to Mars will fire and destroy your precious ship." He stood defiantly now, heedless of how he was feeling. "Your so-called Federation is overrated and I will make sure that I remove your influence from our part of space."

"Hysterics are unnecessary Mr. President. We don't care to be here any longer than we have to," Janeway countered. "And kidnapping you is just as wrong as what you've tried to do to us. So we will return you to your people."

Clark couldn't believe it. Were they naïve to send him back? Already he was calculating his next move.

Then Janeway dropped the other shoe. "We will transport you to Earth. There you can lead your people in their quest to find a cure for the plague that's surely coming."

"No! I demand you send me back to _EarthForce One_! I demand-"

"Your demands are irrelevant," she said smiling at some personal joke that only she knew. "And in this case, resistance is futile. She touched her com-link. "Energize."

The President and his guards were sent screaming back to Earth. Clark found himself in the center of Earth Alliance headquarters. His screams echoed throughout the hallways.

Christov and a couple of others weren't with him, but right now he could have cared less about where they were. He was contaminated. He was poisoned. All of his carefully laid plans were dust now. He was doomed. The government officials that he'd abandoned on Earth would be coming for him soon. But he swore that he would take that woman with him. Rushing to his Presidential chambers he opened gold channel. "Captain Thompson," he hissed. Destroy that ship by any means possible. Now."

"Sir, Mr. Christov and some of the others just- - just 'appeared on the ship." What…"

"You have your orders ," Clark screamed. "As commander and Chief I order you to destroy that ship now!" A moment later, he terminated the link.

He could hear them. _'They' _were coming, lots of them; to take him away. It wouldn't end like this. If he couldn't have it no one would. He began punching in codes.

-----

TBC in Part 4


	31. Chapter 28

_**As you know I have answered most of the comments in the review section so please check it out if you have any questions:**_

_**Chapter Twenty-Eight**_

"_**The One Side of the Coin"**_

_**(The Armageddon Conflict :) Part 4**_

"_**Plagues"**_

**_EarthForce One_:**

So far twelve Earth Alliance warships of various configurations had come to their aid in confronting the latest Federation Ship to violate their territory. Not nearly as many as he would have liked, but sixteen to one odds did give him a sense of comfort when confronting this unknown quantity. Federation vessels had gained quite a reputation and as eager as he was to test his ship against _Voyager_ this was not the time to do so.

The unknown factor on his mind was that everything was out in the open. Clark's conversations and threats against the Admiral and her people had been heard by everyone in the fleet and on all Earth comms as well. That was an utter disaster Clark would probably never recover from. But he was still Commander-in-chief and Thompson's orders were clear. "You have five minutes to surrender unconditionally or we will open fire! All batteries at ready status."

"This is Captain Chakotay of the Starship _Voyager_. We will not submit to terrorist activity, nor will we surrender."

"Be reasonable," Captain Thompson said. "You're greatly outnumbered and you don't stand a chance."

"Mr. Worf, scan that ship," Chakotay ordered, in full view of Thompson and the others of his crew listening in. "Target engineering, weapons, reactors, their refreshers, everything."

Thompson frowned as he listened to this tattooed Captain. Scanning his ship wouldn't do that much...

For an instant, the viewscreen lost coherence. On the bridge, lights started flickering. The computers began malfunctioning and power on the ship dipped perceptively. Whatever they'd done had interfered with the entire ship's functions.

"Captain, Sir."

If this was some sort of new attack... "What is it?" he snapped.

"_Voyager's_ power emissions are going up. Way up, Sir. It's interfering with ship's functions. We're losing targeting data and scanners."

"Let me see," he growled. The emissions _were_ rising. He and the other Captains of his battle group had studied the _Enterprise_ and _Ambassador_ extensively, preparing for the inevitable conflict with them, so he was well aware of their capabilities and maximum power ratings as shown in the battles of Proxima III. However, _Voyager's_ energy profile went higher than anything that had been recorded on the _Enterprise_. "Jeez," he whispered to himself.

_Voyager_ was rotating slowly, bringing her profile to point directly at his ship. It moved slowly as if daring _EarthForce One_ and its fleet to fire. It completed its maneuver and casually moved towards his ship. The ship shimmered as ablative armor appeared, covering the pristine vessel.

"Captain Thompson." It was that Federationist Captain again. "Time is almost up," he said sadly. "We're going to allow you the first shot," he told Jake. "Then I promise that you and your crew won't feel anything."

Thompson subconsciously licked his lips. His ships and _Voyager_ were at point blank range and his targeting acquisition was been blocked completely. They were going to have to target the Fed ship visually, not a problem since it was less than a half-kilometer away.

"Time is almost up," Thompson confirmed. Two minutes left. "We'll die together," he answered refusing to back down, even if it meant his death.

"Not likely."  
---

**_USS Yeager_**:

The threat of violence was over. Ambassador Mollari and his entourage were returning to _Babylon Five_ under escort by both Minbari and Centauri warships. The EA ships, having witness the events occurring at Centauri Prime were returning to Earth. And the Federation _Saber_ also headed at maximum warp to the station carrying unexpected visitors.

Sela stood staring defiantly at Captain Sisko and Commander Lawson who returned her stare with undisguised hatred. Those looks of belligerence just irritated her even more. It was irrational she knew, but she had to vent and Sisko was closest. Besides, like just about everyone else on this ship, he was a Human and her dislike for her mother's people came to the fore now. The Centauri were not a threat to her anymore but she and Tarok were still under subjugation to Humans-once again.

Medical treatment had been adequate but for some reason, the Starfleet crewmembers treated her like she was filth and she couldn't understand why-not that she really cared. But she wasn't in the mood for this. Cartagia's tender mercies had taken their tow on both of the Romulans. Na'Toth was in worse shape and the Narn would require several weeks of therapy before she could be pronounced well. Then there would be the psychological counseling...

"Captain Sisko," Sela announced as if he were some sort of inferior servant. "I am sick and tired of your stand-offish attitude. I am not your enemy." She was exhausted and angry. This couldn't be happening but yet it was. Q turned her world upside down and she didn't have a grasp of what had actually happened to her.

"I want to know about the war," Sisko demanded. "What is the status of the Federation? It's been months. Are they still in the war?"

Sisko was expecting her to answer but Tarok, to her relief, did instead. "The Klingons and the Federation were aggressively attacking the Cylon defense systems before _Voyager_ passed out of range. We-"

"What are you talking about?" Commander Lawson demanded. "Don't play with us, Romulan."

"I'm answering your question, Commander," Tarok hissed. "The Romulan Empire has been decimated by those machines. We lost billions!" he yelled, Vulcanoid passions coming to the fore. "Is that what you want to hear?"

Commander Lawson was taken back. "The Klingons have new weapons?"

Sela could tell that Lawson didn't understand, but a quick look indicated that Captain Sisko did. A second later he proved it. "Our whole lives, everything we know can be summed up as a temporal hiccup. There was no Klingon Federation war," he said with finality.

"No," Sela answered. "Not in my reality. None of us were at war with each other. We've banded together to fight against another threat."

"The Cylons," he asked. "What are they?"

"A machine race," Tarok answered. "A race dedicated to destroying Humanity and Humanoid species in our quadrant."

Lawson's mind wanted to shut down but he was refusing it permission to do so. Sisko's story of whom and what they were begin to sink in and in that moment he understood that he would never see his home again-

-Because it didn't exist. "Who's fighting them?" asked Lawson; unable to contain his curiosity of events he had no inkling of.

"Everybody." As the Romulan related recent events in the Alpha quadrant, those of the crew who heard that answer were quiet-

---

-All except Captain Benjamin Sisko.

So it was true, all of it. It wasn't some fantastic dream created by a delusional, homesick mind. These-people were not from the reality he knew. But they were original templates, as his 'brother' had said. They were adrift in another quantum universe with no way to get back. The doorway described by this Romulan would not be able to get them back home. That was a deathtrap and he knew it, could feel it in every fiber of his soul. Standing beside him Commander Lawson could barely breathe.

It was almost too much. Sitting down and steeling himself, he dove into the history of their arrival that the subsequent things that had happened to them since they'd arrived in this strange, forbidding universe.

---

_**Centauri Prime**_

Alyt Rannaonn, Commander of the Minbari fleet encircling Centauri Prime started relaxing more now. Despite his original intentions to savage the Centauri home world, it had fallen more or less, without a single shot fired. Anger warred against pragmatism in his heart because of that outcome. The Centauri hadn't directly attacked his people or his world but had associated with those who did. They would pay for that allegiance but apparently not by the blood of their people.

The new leader, General Knonto Denarri seemed to be a pragmatist, too. He issued dictates and his people ran to follow them. So far, all of his orders were designed to relieve tension and help the millions who had suffered on his world. There was going to be much to do to even begin to deal with the horrific attack on their planet. The Military hadn't disarmed but there was very little tension between the two fleets occupying the system. This was good since he knew he would soon be needed to deal with the new alien threat springing from the darkness. That disturbed him. Even the Shadows would have been better than this unknown enemy. At least the Shadows were a known entity. And of course, when this threat was cleared up, then there were the Federationists they would have to deal with.

Rannaonn, like so many others believed that the Federation representatives were from some distant Human colony somehow lost to history. And he could not stand the fact that Humans were in control of technology at least equal to and in some reports better than the Minbari. It wasn't natural and not for the first time, he wondered what would have happened if his ship, the _Blood of Saints,_ would have matched itself against one of the starfleeter ships. That would have made for a much more interesting Earth-Minbari war, or what his people called 'the Great War of Righteous Retribution'. It was too bad that their home world was too far away. He was sure that their colonies would have put up a better fight than their Earther counterparts if they had somehow become involved. Then most likely his people wouldn't have surrendered as they did. The Minbari could have finished the Earthers and that Fed colony off as originally intended.

More than a decade had passed, but the war still made him seethe whenever he thought of it. Now he had to be diplomatic with the Humans, both branches of them. Neroon was a Star Rider born and true. But he and Delenn were being contaminated with Humanity. That was the only thing he could think of for their insane association with the Humans. The Humans should have never tried to contact the Minbari in the first place. But their arrogance caused the death of one of the greatest of his people, Dukat. They should have known then what would happen when the Humans began trying to spread their influence across the stars. They should have been dealt with then.

Anytime a Human was involved in anything, something bad happened. The Centauri–Human conflict started because of the Humans. Their own civil war was a failure. If they had done it correctly, then they would have wiped themselves out and saved someone else the trouble in the future. The Drakh attacking Minbar had been a partial result of interactions with Humanity. And the worst thing was that Humans stuck together when they weren't trying to kill one another. Sooner or later the Fed Humans and the Earthers were going to fall into each other's arms and then most likely the universe would self-destruct in protest. Maybe they would have to do something about that in the future when things calmed down a little. Thank Valen those creatures had left; he felt less fouled now.

However, negotiations with the Centauri appeared to be going quite well. Even some of what he considered his own outrageous demands were being agreed to by the new Dictator. Diplomats would scream about some of those conditions later but that wasn't his concern. He sat back. This he could learn to enjoy.

The first hint of trouble came not as a whirlwind but as the tiniest of breezes. Two Centauri _Sentri_ fighters at the outskirts of the system reported some sort of spatial distortion that they couldn't identify. Moments later, contact was lost with them. Then to Centauri Space Commands' astonishment, a _Primus_ simply disappeared from space traffic sensors at the exact same time six unidentified vessels appeared, vectoring towards the heart of star system. There had been no warning, no jump or even a hint of that insane Federation distortion signature.

Those unidentified blips didn't remain unidentified for long. The invaders had returned with a larger force this time.

A triad of those vessels; huge, bulbous things, fired a beam weapon of unknown properties directly at one of the perimeter guard _Sharlins_. _Morning Sun_ was knocked off of its trajectory a second before the beam sliced it in two. Wherever the beam touched _Sharlin_ crystalline armor and metal glowed and melted. The alien energy continued to feed on the ship until there was nothing left.

A second _Primus_ met a similar fate seconds later. Supreme Leader Knonto Denarri wasted no time. He simply looked at the Minbari Commander who nodded in response. Time to go to war.

Two dozen _Sharlins_ and an equal number of Centauri warships converged on the interlopers. Minbari and Centauri Fighter support ran into a wall of squid-like enemy fighters with weapon's capacity almost twice their range. The ships were identical except that several of the fighters were the size of White_ Stars_.

Two _Sharlins_ and a _Primus_ attacked the foremost ship of the closest triad. The ship was bigger than any Minbari warship, about two thousand meters long. Dozens of blazing neutron/fusion beams emanating from their main cannons found their targets. The huge ships slowed imperceptibly as powerful energy weapons were absorbed or refracted by a defensive shield surrounding the ship. It returned fire.

The Closest _Sharlin_ used its counter-battery fire to attempt to deflect the incoming pulse of plasma energy to no avail. The shots were absorbed and pulse hit the _Sharlin_ and turned it into a formless, glowing ember. The second _Sharlin_ and _Primus_ had continued their fire throughout contact and only now had the shield showed any signs of strain. Undaunted the ship fired once more using its main beam cannon and the _Primus_ was blasted into non-existence. It attacked again and half of the second _Sharlin_ had been burned away before several more _Sharlins_ could enter the melee.

---

**_EarthDome_**:

President Clark's mind swirled with possibilities, all of them bad. Despite all of his precautions, he was back where he started, on Earth. It was as if his entire life had turned full circle. Outside of the Presidential office building, there were hundreds of frightened people clamoring to get in. Security wasn't overwhelmed yet but they soon would be as the crowd and the general hysteria increased. People were lying dazed in the streets and there were scores of medical personnel and pieces of equipment visible as far as the eye could see. Many people were simply lying in the streets and the crowd's voice had turned into a dull roar.

Janeway had broadcasted their entire conversation to everyone. They were out to get him now and there was no place to hide. The people truly hated him now, even more so than President Kinsey (who by the way, held the record for the most attempts on his life while in office). But he wasn't going out like that.

He walked around in a semi-daze and by habit he turned on ICN. According to news network, people were being affected everywhere. The symptoms started with generalized weakness and lethargy. A few people closest to ground zero were suffering from bleeding and extreme pain as the Shadow plague took hold. It had only been about three hours; however it was spreading like wildfire, with himself being poisoned along with the rest of the world. Terrified, he began laughing at the irony of the situation. His enemies were coming for and would throw him in a cell for the rest of his life and he couldn't do anything about it. But knowing EarthDome's policies it would take them over a year to even file the charges and by then everyone on Earth would be dead, so it would be a mote point.

If he had to suffer then there were a few things he had to clear up first, the most important thing was making sure those responsible went first. The G.O.D.s were in position now, locked onto _Voyager_. When _EF-1_ fired, the defense platforms would as well. There was no way that small ship could handle such a powerfully coordinated attack. Plasma particle/laser batteries and a barrage of nuclear tipped missiles would help to cut that ship to pieces, shields notwithstanding. Plus he would make sure that that woman Admiral knew that what happened to Earth as a result of her defiance was her fault.

Finished with entering his instructions, he re-directed the rest for the G.O.D.s to hit Earth. Twenty-five percent of the world's population would perish and it would be Janeway's fault. Now all he had to do was to wait for the right time to press the button.

---

_**EarthForce One:**_

If Captain Thompson were to have any chance to survive at all, then his first strike would have to be as devastating as he could possibly make it, with everyone firing simultaneously. The Weapons Officer looked as grim-faced as the Captain had ever seen him double checking his preparations and targeting over and over as if that would make the difference and who knew, it might. The _Omega_-X class _EarthForce One _was the most powerful ship ever devised by mankind and surely with its sister ship's firepower added, it should be enough to deal with _Voyager _when the time came. His heart jumped when he received his President's communication stating that the G.O.D.s would be supporting his attack.

"Status."

"Reactors at one hundred and ten percent. All weapons are nominal. Targeting acquisition, visual mode locked and pinging. Safeties are off. Awaiting your command."

"Are we still getting feedback?"

"Yes."

"Coordinate with the fleet. On my mark..."

_EarthForce One_ began shaking violently from some type of renewed assault. Computers flickered once more, then died as did general power all over the ship. Emergency lighting kicked in even as Captain Thompson proceeded to order his ships to fire on the starship. The EA vessel began to list to port and suddenly, he was demanding damage reports. _Voyager_ had done something to them. They were completely dead in space.

"I don't believe it!" Damage reports were coming from engineering. "The reactors-"

Thompson wasn't listening. He was too busy watching three of his four fusion reactors lazily floating past the bridge of his ship. There was just enough power for life support and the most basic of ship's functions. His face beet-red, he found himself admiring Captain Chakotay's solution. They were soft-hearted after all; a weakness true, but it would serve to save the lives of his crew.

A shadow darkening the bridge caused him to turn as another EA destroyer moved towards _Voyager_.

"Attention: This is Earth Alliance destroyer _Evanston," _a voice cut in, "to all EA vessels. Do not fire on _Voyager_. Those orders are illegal and we will respond if any EA vessel attacks _Voyage _or any of their support.

Behind the _Evanston_, Thompson saw a small fleet of destroyers and StarFuries lined up, ready to defend _Voyager_ with their lives.

------

_**EarthDome:**_

Despite the ultimatum, a frightened President Clark felt a bit of relief, as the remainder of is loyal guard, including last remaining _Omega-X_ shadow destroyers, four destroyers and their compliment of fighters, fired on _Voyager_. Those warships were moving now, trying to both attack _Voyager_ and defend themselves against the traitors returning fire, doing neither very well. Unconcerned with their fate, he used the G.O.D.s in position to join the attack as well. The first beam weapon struck the ship, its energy splashing across the shielding for a half second before the Fed ship accelerated fast enough for the G.O.D.s to lose the track of their target.

His fit of rage was interrupted by the sounds of PPGs burning through the re-enforced door of his office. Cursing his security, who hadn't even fired a shot in his defense he shrank back towards the fall wall of his room, stumbling into his chair. Doodling wildly-he had to complete this last little drawing-he activated the remaining G.O.D.s, to scorch Earth for their defiance against him and for destroying his dream. He was a little man with dark dreams that now faded with the coming day and he was vindictive enough to make those who wrecked his life, before it had really begun, wish they were never born. In seconds they would be through the door with that idiot Susanna Luchenko of the Russian Consortium waving a stupid subpoena in his face. Long ago, he had vowed that inferiors would never capture him and place him on display like some animal. Didn't they know this? His job was finished as was his life. He pulled his personal PPG from his holster, replaced the power-pack, jammed the muzzle to his temple and pressed the trigger...

---

**EarthSpace:**

_Cobras One_ and _Three_ were busy targeting two StarFuries on their twelve-o'clock. Following orders to the end these two had make strafing runs against the _Evanston_ scoring several hits. The had just performed a one-eighty to start another attack when the two Colonial fighter-bombers fired on them, just close enough to give both EA pilots heart attacks. Now, they were running trying to evade the blasts from the two _Cobras_ seemingly intent on blasting them into scrape metal. Both ships stayed just out of range of return fire all the while forcing the two EA fighters to perform evasive maneuvers that they were never meant to perform. Hitting their retros, both fighters swiveled around and fired at the _Cobras_ as they streaked by. They managed a touching glance on _Cobra_ _One's_ shields.

That was good shooting and both Colonial could appreciate the precision, imagination and competence of the fighter-pilot. However, he still didn't have a chance. Tough. Both _Cobras_ performed the exact same maneuvers, facing the two fighters who were now splitting up in a frantic effort to keep from being destroyed.

"This is _Cobra One_. Stand down or be destroyed," Boxy demanded. The fighter he was targeting fired wildly in this direction once more in an effort to score a hit. "Stand down," he repeated as he bracketed the StarFury with his disruptors. After what seemed to be an eternity, the pilot responded.

"Standing down." The fighter began powering its weapon's systems down.

Boxy sighed with relief. He didn't want to kill this pilot.

------

With the exception of one of the remaining shadow destroyer, most of the fighting had been half-hearted at best. None of the EA ships had been mortally wounded and only three of the StarFuries had been destroyed, with two of the pilots ejecting in time.

The one major causality was one of Clark's Shadow-based destroyers. It went after _Voyager_ with every plasma energy weapon and fusion missile in its arsenal. The entire first salvo missed as _Voyager_ gracefully avoided the attack and returned fire with its phasers. The phaser fire ruptured the synthetic Shadow armor, creating a cascade failure along the entire length of the ship. Targeted weapons and engines blew and the crew began to evacuate as the ship slowly tore apart. Chakotay hadn't really wanted to do that. Beside him, Janeway said nothing as he ordered the transporters to save as many as possible.

-----

**Centauri Prime:**

The enemy's shields had almost collapsed when its own supporting ships opened fire. Twelve Minbari capital ships, closing in from three different directions and supported by a large contingent of Centauri _Primus_ and _Vorchans_, together, of one accord opened fire on the invader.

Even the smallest flicker, the smallest change in the status of the fight pulled in Alyt Rannaonn's complete attention. The power of the enemy was formidable. Delenn and Neroon had described the details but he hadn't really understood. With the sole exception of one vessel, all of them still survived that attack. They hadn't even bothered to evade the incoming blasts. Huge energy pulses found three _Sharlins_ despite their stealth fields and defensive batteries, completely destroying them. The three ships when hit by the plasma energy, simply continued to burn in ships until there was nothing left. There were no survivors.

Those pulses were terrifying and moved fasted than he thought possible, easily outrunning their intended targets. Their beam weapons were even worse. We watched two _Primus_ battleships were completely cut in half by those beams and as with the plasma weapons, the halves continued to disintegrate until nothing was left.

Both Minbari and Centauri fighters weren't doing much better against the enemy. The _Nial_ fighters were having a brutal time targeting and hitting their rapidly evading counterparts who were at least their equal in technology. The Centauri _Sentris_ were doing almost as well, but that was where the difference ended. The _Nials_ hit their targets but it took four hits to kill an enemy fighter. The Centauri succeeded in five.

In combat, when life and death was measured in seconds, which was far too long and one-on-one, the combined forces were being slaughtered. No fighter, Centauri or Minbari survived a direct hit even though their remains didn't disintegrate. _Sharlins_, the pride of the Minbari for a thousand years suffered grievous damage from fighter strafing.

By accident more than anything else, fusion and neutron beams from several ships converged and pierced the formidable shields of one of the lead capital warships. Directed energy mixed with alien plasma and the ship blew with enough force to take three additional _Sharlins_ and four _Vorchans_ and a _Primus_ with it in oblivion. By then the aliens had had enough and now retreated into some bizarre and unknown form of hyperspace utilizing the same techniques as the Fed ships when entering warp.

Alyt Rannaonn reeled with the implications of the battle. That was just a probing force! They were playing with the Centauri, forcing them to maintain a significant force in their home system, effectively leaving many other systems defenseless. And his own fleet had been found wanting in their wake. Sixty percent of the forces that engaged the enemy hadn't survived the encounters, a terrible defeat by anyone's measure. Bitterly he realized that the enemy had retreated because they chose to and not by anything that his Star Riders or the Centauri had done.

He knew that he and his fellow Captains would have never predicted such losses unless fighting someone like the Shadows. As ripped and burning wreckage floated by, the torrent of emotions that almost swallowed him shed themselves from his mind as water evaporating form the noonday sun. With a shock that rocked the very fiber of his bones, he understood. They '_were'_ First Ones and the cold fear of recognition made his body shiver. Did the Grey Council know this truth? And what of Neroon and Delenn and the others of the Grey Council that first encountered these creatures near Z'ha'dum? No, this was too important; with the Vorlons gone and unable to offer assistance, there was a real possibility that they would lose unless-

-Unless they had some sort of equalizer. The Federation shields and some of that other magical technology he'd heard of could very well decide the fate of his people. These creatures, the ones called Sinhindrea, would not stop at Centauri Prime if what he had heard, which admittedly was very little, was true. The creatures would soon attack Minbari territories and that couldn't be allowed. Human stupidity introduced them to the Minbari and Human greed would not now determine the fate of the Minbari. He and the warrior caste had to come together to protect what was theirs.

Decision made, he ordered his command to _Babylon Five_, in order to personally explain what happened and demand the technology be share by the Federation Humans. The stakes were too high. If not then he would force the situation and take what he needed as necessary. The Fleet Commander's eyes blazed with determination. The Minbari weren't the Centauri, to be simply swept from the stars. And Starkiller would do well to stay of it. For their own sake, they and anyone helping them had better be reasonable.

---  
EarthDome:

General Franklin and Senator Chen Ye carefully examined the PPG hand weapon ex-President Clark had used to try to kill himself with. Chen Ye was rather bewildered; the power pack was fresh and fully charged. It should have worked. Clark's brains should have been fried before they could have captured and had dragged his butt kicking and screaming to his own personal cell. The politician in him found this all rather inconvenient. His death would have saved a lot of grief and scandal. Senators and elected representatives were about to lose their jobs because of him.

Now that his seat of government had been broken-most of his staff was located on an immobilized _EarthForce One_ and Psi-Corps back was broken they could make changes. Hopefully his constituency wouldn't blame him and he wouldn't end up in prison, after all, he had no choice. Fear had led them to this point. They should have acted sooner. The time of course, had never been right and now it was too late to blame anyone else except each other.

---

Franklin whistled slowly as he examined the innards of the PPG. The circuits and helium storage chamber were completely distorted. There was no way it would have fired. How this happened he had no idea. That was Clark's personal weapon. There's no way he could not have known that it was tampered with. But all of that speculation evaporated as Vice-President Luchenko gasped loud enough to be heard across the room.

"He's used the G.O.D.s to target Earth," she said. "I don't have the codes to stop this!"

"Where?" Franklin demanded.

"North American east coast and the central Germany Austria combine," she answered immediately. She turned to him. "We have ten minutes then we all die."

"Our major research and medical facilities are situated there," he said. "If they go, we won't be able to contain the plague. He's dooming us all."

Luchenko wasn't listening. Instead she was contacting EarthForce directly.

"This is Vice-President Susanna Luchenko to all EarthForce ships in the area. By order of President Clark, the G.O.D. platforms have been turned to target Earth. You must stop them by any means necessary!" Then she crumpled to the floor as the first waves of pain from the Shadow plague began to rip apart her joints. "No," she moaned. "Not now."  
---

Coming up next: _There's a plague beginning and the Shadows are going to make sure that the Sinhindrea targets Earth. Babylon 5 tries to avoid another conflict with the Minbari. The C57-D and Charlotte Clark start earning their keep. Mamma and daughter meet, then try to kill each other for some reason. Centauri Prime is under siege and burning. Then things get serious when everyone discovers that their next door neighbors weren't so bad after all._

Comments are welcomed of course

**_Now: It seems that we have a wonderful number of B5/ST crossovers here on this site and it's about time! _**

_**Here is the List; Please check them out at these sites located in the review section because will not allow me to post them with this chapter no matter what I do.  
**_

Here is the List; Please check them out at these sites

'Those who Stand' (me, of course) 

'Shadows and dust in the Pattern' 

'A Thin Veneer' (me again) 

'New Story' by Iars 

'The Best of Both Universes' 

'The Nature of Realities a ST:TNG -B5 story' ?t71843

'Why Not' ?t66983

'Kirk Starkiller' ?t61573

'Two Destiny's, one Survivor' ?t64286

This is the one that started it for me: 'Altered Mirror' 

Not bad considering that these type of crossovers were once very hard to find. Some are good and some not, some are long and some are short but the bottom line is that they are there so enjoy people.


	32. Chapter 29 Consequences

**Chapter 29**

"_**Congregation" **_

"_ISN news special update: Assault on planet Earth. "I'm Terry Lynde."_

"_And I'm Robyn Kelley, reporting here at ISN news. The entire membership and staff of ISN wishes to thank the people who have supported and helped us in these difficult times. Many of us have been imprisoned or have been declared missing and presumed are dead. We-we have regained the freedom to tell the truth again and we are very glad to be back. We will not forget and we promise that this will never happen again. _

_The reign of terror is now over. Many people died and our hearts go out to them. But the war has just begun. The Clark régime has fallen, but Earth has paid a terrible price in regaining that freedom. Three days ago, a race called the Drakh attacked and nearly decimated the combined forces of Earth Alliance, as we prepared to go on the offensive against the Centauri Republic. That was the official EarthDome spin that we were forced to report by President Clark. But according to official sources those reports were incorrect. _

_With his ever growing fleet of advanced ships supplied by the Minbari and the United Federation of Planets as represented by Captains Jean-Luc Picard, Rachel Garrett and Benjamin Sisko, EarthDome was preparing for a pre-emptive strike. President Clark's orders were to attack and if necessary destroy _Babylon Five_ and any resistance encountered there. The station constituted a growing threat to his powerbase and according to his recently discovered personal notes; it was believed that Captain Sheridan, Commander of the Babylon station would attempt to take over EarthAlliance. Experts are already vigorously disputing those claims._

_As of now, President Susanna Luchenko has ordered a complete cessation of hostilities with the resistance members and the colonies that fought against Clark's forces, to officially begin in five days. The new President has also reached out to the Centauri, who have responded by offering a complete unconditional cease-fire. EarthForce has confirmed the Centauri homeworld was attacked by unknown forces and a portion of their home world was ravaged by enemy fire. Terry-"_

"_After the fight against the Drakh, things took a turn for the worse. President Clark turned the G.O.D. system against Earth in an unsuccessful attempt to force EarthForce to capture or destroy yet another Federation starship, the USS _Voyage_r. The attempt failed and under the guns of both the EF and Federation, the G.O.D. system was disabled and destroyed thereby saving as much as thirty to forty percent of the planets surface targeted for destruction. Clark and several of his administrative staff have been detained at an undisclosed location._

_But Earth is now under total and complete quarantine. There have been a hundred thousand deaths directly attributed to the disease itself. Millions are on the verge of panic and there have been large-scale riots throughout North and South America and Indonesia. The Chinese Associated Republic and the Russian Consortium are reporting generalized unrest but few serious problems at this time. There have been several attempts by private space yachts to escape the quarantine but those vessels were either forced to return to Earth or have been shot down. Doctors from all over the Alliance have offered to help us combat this deadly biological attack and are working hard to discover the root cause of the disease that has afflicted us all. The Federation starship _Voyager_ has offered their help and medical expertise to combat this calamity._

_So far the epidemiology has not been determined and medical staffs from both EarthDome's best facilities and the Federation are rushing to complete a research Center to study the disease that has infected our world... _

_In related news, President Luchenko, who as been affected by the Drakh plague, has officially requested help from any race who have either witnessed or have seen this particular disease. She also urged calm, assuring the people that all that can be done is being done... _

**Babylon Five:**

_Finally!_

"We can have this finished in three days," foreman Rowansky said. "Environmental Health and Safety has certified that this upgraded reactor is safe and we can therefore install it."

"What took it so long?" asked an exasperated Susan.

"Nothing gets moved until it's certified," the foreman countered. "You know the rules. We don't touch nothing until we get the okay. Alien invasion or not, union rules are union rules."

"And of course this had nothing to do with the contract talks," she murmured. Despite everything going on here, the unions had to get their two credits in.

"On my word of honor-we could never consider such a thing," the short bald man responded looking indignant at the very idea. "Besides, we're only talking a seven percent increase retroactive to the beginning of the civil war. It's not that much and _B5's_ been real good to us."

Susan kept her face as neutral as she could. The union talks _had_ gone rather well and since the Feds had come, money had been a secondary consideration (considering the fact that the replicators replicated gold and platinum among other things-information that only a few were privy to). Solvency at _B5_ was not a problem. Medical insurance cost had shrunk considerably as other concessions increased, including extravagant amenities in the workers living quarters. The workers didn't even complain about the food ­–courtesy of the replicators–being provided to them for free as part of _B5's_ appreciation of everything that the unions had done since the occupation. She doubted that many of them would want to leave their jobs after the civil war was over.

And that was the big if. Earth was in trouble, just when the war was close to ending, the Drakh had come and hurt EarthForce. Then Clark tried to kidnap the new Feds. It was all so insane and she wanted to be there to see how it turned out. But the station needed her talents in order to keep running. The new shield generators and their power supplies had to be installed as soon as possible, taking about a week to complete. The unions would do this under the Feds watchful eyes. Both the Feds and the unions on _B5_ got along well but the rule' thou shalt not mess with union labor' still applied.

When dealing with the mess that was _Babylon Five_, this wasn't bad. What she was more concerned about was the protection of the station. Defenses were improving dramatically and the newest StarFuries were being replicated quickly now, being passed on to several of the most trusted of the soon-to-be-ex resistance vessels. She really didn't know what to think concerning that about that. One wrong move here and the result would be disastrous. But Sheridan and the others didn't really have a choice.

She had just gotten used to her second generation StarFury before this newest product had emerged. No doubt about it, she loved her newest fighter, but it was a speed demon, that could kill you in a second if you weren't careful. And she was worried how the Minbari would react to this. They were already twitching when the first upgrade was seen holding its own against the Drakh. Those modified StarFuries were better than the _Nials. _Susan doubted that the Minbari would like this development at all when they found out.

The woman sighed. They'd get to that problem soon enough.

"Did I say something wrong?" Rowansky asked.

"No, no. It's a lot on my mind, that's all."

"I can understand that." He looked at her, his entire demeanor changing form bravado to concern. "Is it true about what happened on Earth? Did the Drakh spread some kinda plague?"

"Yes," she acknowledged sadly. "We don't know the extent of the damage but it looks pretty bad."

"It's good that ISN is back," he said sarcastically. "We needed another legitimate reason to get depressed. This ain't over yet is it? It's gonna get worse."

For a moment she was silent. "We need those generators installed as soon as possible," was her only answer.

Grim-faced, he nodded and ordered his men to hurry up with the installations.

"They'll be here in five minutes," Lieutenant Corwin said. There are two more behind them. One looks like an _Explorer_. The other's an _Omega_."

"We better get ready."

"Yes, Sir."

--

In CnC, Michael Garibaldi was busy doing a few final preparations for the inevitable himself. Twelve of the newest Starfuries were being transferred to the _Omega_ destroyer _Titanus_. With the exception of the mini warp engines attached to the rear of the _Thunderbolts_, the ships looked identical to their earlier models. The vessels were lined up and patiently awaiting their turn to enter the _Omega's_ docking bay. The mixture of both the second and third generation _Thunderbolts_ were going to come as a rude shock to anyone that went up against them.

But to everyone's chagrin, EarthForce R & D weren't sleep either. The Shadow StarFuries and the design innovations gleaned from the stolen v2 StarFury were being incorporated as fast as possible. So far only the powerplant, an upgraded fusion reactor designed after the original, and primitive polarized plating had been installed. Those two technologies increased survivability by over twenty-five percent. However the upgraded sensors and weapons weren't developed enough to the point where an EF version could fit inside the fighter.

Impressed as she was by the v3 fighters, Charlotte Clark however wasn't convinced that the new v2 fighters were better than her Shadow based StarFuries. The argument between her and Sandra had become so heated that Garibaldi had suggested a friendly competition between the two of them.

The standard _Thunderbolt_ or _Aurora_ class StarFury stood little chance of defeating its Shadow-based counterpart either in weaponry, speed, endurance, or survivability. The v2s were another story. In six simulated dogfights, the v2s defeated the S-Starfuries four times. It had been determined that the quality and experience of the pilot was a big factor in determining the outcome. Polarized plating overcame simulated shadow armor another factor that decided the contest. The biggest improvement the v2s had going for them was the standoff and delivery capability of the v2s, a tremendous advantage that Hiroshi magnanimously waved off in order to make it a fairer contest.

Despite his lack of trust concerning Charlotte Clark, he had to admit albeit with reservations, that the Captain was not her cousin. She was slowly wedding (more like getting pulled kicking and screaming) herself to _B5_ and more ways than one. She had chosen to remain behind when Earth was attacked rather than taking the three-day journey to Earth to participate in a battle that would have been decided long before she got there. Besides she was more interested in what was happening to the EA jumpgates. Another had been destroyed and she was going to investigate with _White Star_ Two and two more of the former resistance _Omegas_ and the tiny United Planet Cruiser _C57-D_ flying saucer. The Sinhindrea's agenda was clear enough. They were trying to isolate Earth. They were already engaged in hit and run attacks at the Centauri home world, with both the Centauri and the Minbari getting the worst of the exchange.

He felt her before the jumpgate signaled its activation. _She's here!_ His heart seemed like it wanted to tear itself from his body.

"Jumpgate activation."

"Its _Ambassador_ and _Enterprise_," he whispered before he even saw the ships. Both ships sailed through the gate and he winced as he looked at the damage inflicted on the Federation battleship. _White Star Three_ followed right behind.

The jumpspace interface closed but immediately the jumpgate struts began widening, separating from one another to allow something much large to come through. "It's the other ship, Sir," Corwin announced. "Reactors are powering up. It's definitely the _Cortez_."

The huge _Explorer_-class ship, almost as long as _B5_ eased into its position some ten kilometers from the station. Originally its Captain had intended to head to Earth, but changed his mind as events continued to play themselves out.

"The other ship is coming through."

"Busy day today."

"Tell me about it," he responded. "This is _Babylon Five_. Please identify yourself."

"_Babylon Five_, this is the Earth Alliance ship _Odysseus_, Captain Laurel Takashima commanding."

"Laurel?" On the screen appeared a no-nonsense, very beautiful woman. The Security Officer couldn't help it. He was beaming all over the place.

"Michael? Michael! God, it's good to hear your voice!"

"What are you doing here?"

"We've been on a deep space mission for the last year and a half," she answered brightly. "As you can guess, our ship is not at its best right now. 'What's going on? We've been getting transmissions about some type of insurrection for the last six months."

Garibaldi was shocked. "Where have you been? Earth has been in a civil war for almost over a year."

"We've been following up rumors concerning a lost civilization," she answered. "Supposedly they developed technology that would astound even the Minbari. Normally an IPX ship would have been sent out but we were traveling through some wild territory. They modified this ship to serve as a long ranged explorer-warship."

"Find anything?"

"Of course," she replied. "But that's for later. Right now, I want to know what is going on. This place is so packed I'm surprise we even have a place to park our ship. Permission to shuttle over."

"Stay where you are. I'll get back to you in a moment." He cut the channel, smiling somewhat sheepishly. Corwin was looking at him, curious. "Captain Takashima was the First Officer of _Babylon Five_ when we first opened for business. That was a little before your time. She was here when Ambassador Kosh was poisoned and the Vorlon fleet was trying to decide whether to blow us to kingdom come. Lock on to her bridge and contact the _Odysseus_."

"Captain," Michael said. "Don't worry about the shuttle."

--

Laurel was rather perplexed. From all of the reports _Babylon Five_ was a major player in the civil war and the leader of the resistance against President Clark's insanity. The Ministry of Peace, the Homeguard, all of it; It sounded like good-old fascism to her. She was glad that her assignment kept her out of most of that crap. But how did they manage to keep EarthForce from running all over them? Granted, _B5_ had formidable defenses but nothing that could have handled what EF could have thrown up against them. She suspected that Delenn had something to do with it, but it was only just that; a suspicion. For some reason the Minbari had a vested interest in _Babylon Five_ that they hadn't told anyone about. And Delenn specifically targeted Jeffery Sinclair with her attentions in the early days. She suspected that maybe EarthForce didn't want to go up against the Minbari.

She couldn't believe how crowded the station had become. There were nearly a hundred or more ships in the immediate area including several with configurations that her ship's computers couldn't identity. Lots of them seem to be freighters and cargo ships filled with aliens, refuges no doubt. But from where she had no clue. The _Cortez_ was taking up a lot of space-standard issue there. And those two strangely designed ships with Earth Alliance writing on them piped her curiosity. They were completely unknown designs that reminded her at first of pleasure cruisers of some type. One had several large holes in its hull indicating that it had been in a fight of some sort-raiders probably. However the way the other ship and EarthForce and Minbari vessels were hovering around it marked it as something of great importance. She vowed to learn more about this later. She and Michael had a lot to discuss.

Garibaldi was back on line. "Prepare for transport," he said.

"I'm on my way," she answered turning to head for her shuttle. To her utter surprise, she never made it.

One second she was on her ship and the next she was on the CnC of _Babylon Five_ looking so confused and shock that Michael couldn't help but to burst out laughing that the normally unflappable Captain.

"Michael?!" was all she could think of to say. It was a truly amazing and completely unexpected experience. "Collecting herself quickly she glared at him in a most uncaptain-like manner. "New toys, eh?"

"Courtesy of the Federation," he said then turned to the lieutenant. "Corwin contact _Odysseus_ and let them know that their Captain is safe."

"The Minbari has developed this," she said in wonder. "How could they possibly-"

"Not them," Michael corrected, all the while still smirking. "I mean them over there," he said as he pointed towards the _Enterprise_."

"Who are they?"

"Humans and aliens from another universe," he told her. Laurel was one of the few people he trusted implicitly.

"Don't play with me Michael."

"I'm deadly serious, Laurel. They got here when we needed them the most and nothing's been the same."

"For the worse?"

"Of course," he laughed. "Seriously, the have caused some problems-with EarthForce, but we've done alright by them. And so have a lot of others including Lyta Alexander."

"The Psi-Corps rep?"

"Yes. She asked to join them and they agreed."

"But she's a telepath," she stammered.

"So are some of them," he countered. "And believe me the people over there do not have the same attitudes towards them that we have."

"She let out a long breath. "I imagine Psi-Corps is having a fit."

"There is no more Psi-Corps, not as you remember it."

She felt another long story coming up. "Are they that different?"

Michael nodded. "Yes, they are. They're kind of skittish with their technology but with everything they've gone through with Earth and the Centauri, that's understandable. But we've done well with them, as you can see."

"In other words, I shouldn't even think about going up against one of them."

"Nope," he confirmed. "Not even against the tiny one over there," he finished, pointing to the USS _Yeager_ that to her eyes didn't look any larger than a gunboat.

"Michael, obviously a lot had happened," she said. She was somewhat in shock. . "I've been gone a long time. What's happened with the Centauri?"

"They attacked those two ships and us for that fact, over there. But their fleet was wiped out in the process. Even the Shadows-you don't know about _them_ yet-had trouble with them. If those two ships got into a fight with a Vorlon ship it would be even money. And that is why everyone's so worried. So far, they've been able to handle just about anything that came up against them. Until now, that is. Something's riding the wind hard and it's coming our way. You need to catch up."

"Evidently," she answered in a hushed tone. _Babylon Five_ was a monster to maintain and now it seemed an even bigger headache. "Michael," she said in a hushed tone. "We found something in the deep frontier. It was a world further than any one has seen before, full of wildlife. We were following a lead from an earlier archeological dig. It suggested that there was a treasure trove of technological wonders just waiting to be discovered. EarthDome sent us out. It took us seven months in hyperspace following obscured beacons to get there. We were in two firefights with unknown aliens. When we got where we believed we were supposed to go we found the world."

"And..."

"No intelligent life, but there was something there that drew our attention. Our scanners picked up the remains of an ancient civilization that either abandoned the planet or were wiped out. There were power emissions coming from the center of a city that was half the size of North America. We went down there and checked things out and we found it. I'm calling it an 'it' because we have no idea what 'it' is. It was old, on the order of ten thousand years. The device was cracked and broken in a dozen places but it still hummed with power. At first we thought it was made of Quantium 40, but we soon discovered that it was a somewhat exotic alloy of the metal unlike anything we've seen before. It was circular with an inner ring covered with alien markings. Unfortunately the whole thing was warped and when our local IPX savant touched it, the inner ring moved and the power died. But it powered once every thirty-six hours and each time, six of seven constructs on the object lit up."

"The device shook the entire area. It was like being in an earthquake, Michael. Then it died out. The power rating on the thing was unimaginable. Some of the IPX scientists were so exited that they planned to try to fix the thing. Something wasn't right. I had to back them off. The closest thing I can compare it to is like a damaged commlink not quite able to work." Takashima eyed him carefully as she spoke her next words. "Michael, I think the thing created something like a doorway similar to our jumpgate arrays, or more precisely it created a stable wormhole. And I think something was trying to get through."

"Are you nuts," he whispered. "That's insane. I can accept warp drive faster than I can accept that."

"What's warp drive?"

**Diplomatic quarters:**

Neroon was angry. "This is intolerable, Delenn. You've seen the coming danger. The Sinhindrea defeated the Shadows at Z'ha'dum. We must marshal our forces together. Every Minbari ship, every clan member must unite to defend our territories against these creatures."

"And how many ships will we need to defend against them? A hundred? A thousand? Are we to fight alone?"

"If necessary, yes." Slowly, he walked around the room, the waves of irritation coming off him in waves. "The other races are doing the same thing. We are all shoring up our defenses."

"And how many of us will survive fighting alone?" she demanded to know. "I can tell you. None of us will."

"Neroon, she's right," Sheridan said. "She is right. They are going to run over us while we fight inside our little caves trying to beat them back. Together we'll have a chance."

"And exactly what will the Humans contribute?" Neroon sneered at the thought. "Perhaps we should ask your people to place themselves in the front lines so that we can get a clearer shot at them. Oh, forgive me. You've been too busy shooting at each other," he added sarcastically.

Sheridan bristled at the comment, but what could he say? Even if it weren't for the Centauri and the Drakh, Earth had been doing an excellent job of shooting themselves in the foot. 'The Minbari are arguably the most powerful race in this region. That also makes you the most influential. What you do, the others will follow."

"I will not squander our resources on those who would not come to our aid."

"What if I can get everyone to create a coalition force to take the battle to them, would you add your support?"

"Possibly," he conceded. "But even with the evidence we've seen, I am not yet convinced that the Minbari can't hand these invaders. When the Star Riders and Wind Swords ride the stars, there are few that can stand against us."

"Neroon, they defeated the Shadows."

"And were weakened in the process. If we prepare now we can strike a decisive blow from which they will never recover."

"No," said a familiar voice. "If you go, you will die and all the Minbari will die soon after." There was a collective gasp of surprise as Kosh, followed by Ambassador Guinan entered the private quarters. "They are a plague that you cannot withstand by yourselves. To survive you must join together."

Delenn bowed reverently. "When a Vorlon speaks we must listen."

Neroon said nothing.  
--

Standing behind him, Guinan simply continued to glare at everyone, trying to convey the seriousness of the situation. The Minbari warrior caste was hardheaded and despite everything they had learned, they would rush blindly into a slaughterhouse. At the same time, she was secretly happy that Kosh had decided to weigh in on this before they did something stupid.

The arguments in his quarters, between the two of them would have terrified entire worlds if they had been overheard. Kosh was frightened, a terrible thing for a Vorlon. Terror had been unleashed and with the loss by his people to the Shadows, he was unsure as to what could be done. His first choice was the obvious choice-flee with his people as soon as he could.

"Are you insane?" Guinan remembered yelling. "Part of this was your responsibility. Your people created the gate and you stopped the Sinhindrea the first time. But you lost the gate. Therefore the responsibility is still yours to bear."

Oh, how angry the Vorlon had gotten when she threw out the word 'responsibility'. She could feel his mental powers straining to get free. For a moment, he forgot whom he was dealing with and she raised her hands in a defensive posture that stopped him in his tracks. Slowly he calm down and whispered to her. "Impertinent," he had said in an amused voice."

"Neo-conservative," she had answered. "You told me that all of your people hadn't headed for the Rim. You had fleets out there." She faced him now, eyeball to iris. "They can help."

"They are not enough."

"Every little bit helps. Picard and the others will help. So will every other race if you simply ask. You lamented when no one came to the aid of your people. That was partially your fault. You have kept the younger races under your control and they are stinted, isolated and distrusting of everyone and everything around them. Your people micromanaged the situation as did the Shadows. They also deserve much of this blame. But it was your people who tampered with the races here, not the Shadows."

"We did it to help them. They needed order."

"Your idea of order," Guinan countered. "What's done is done, but you should have left well enough alone."

"We did what we had to do," he protested, all the while wondering why he felt like a child when he was around this being. And how did she get him to talk so much? It was unnatural. "The Shadows would have won."

"You don't know that," she answered. "And what if they did, a thousand years ago? Would it have made a difference now a thousand years later? That is something that we won't know. But without your interference it's entirely possible that these 'children', as you call them, would have been something more that what they are."

"Or they could be dead."

'Possibly," she conceded. "But life finds a way to survive despite the obstacles placed against it. The controls you placed on these people weren't for their benefit, but for yours. You treated those in your charges like experimental animals and then complained when another one of your pet projects blew up in your face. And now you want to them to clean it up,' she said to an embarrassed Kosh. "What will be the cost of that cleanup? How many billions will die because you and your people didn't stand up to the responsibility you've abdicated?"

"Order must be maintained," he answered through his translation device. "The younger races must be made to learn who they are in order for them to continue their well being. Chaos leads to destruction and death."

"Explain your theories to my universe," she countered. "There has to be a balance so that they can grow, Koch. But you're trying to change the subject," she alleged. "Will you contact the remainder of your fleet?"

After an eternity: "I will ask."

"What about the Shadows?" she asked. "Will they help if we ask them?"

"No."

"No to what, Kosh...to us asking, or them actually helping?"

"No."

Guinan smiled at the infuriated Vorlon Ambassador. "That's okay," she said brightly. "I'll ask. And then I'll ask them what _'they'_ want."  
--

Guinan could still remember the waves of terror and shock that resulted from that comment. But she was adamant. Everyone was going to be needed if they were going to survive the coming weeks.

However, it was a source of irritation as to how much control the Vorlons had over these people. They were genetically programmed to follow just about any suggestion the Vorlons made. And that begged the question concerning Mr. Morgan. There was something about him that was different. She suspected she knew but she didn't voice her suspicions to Kosh. One day she would.

Ambassador Mollari had just entered the chamber, quietly enduring the cool to hate-filled glances of the others present. Guinan had to admire that. She could se the change in him. There was a purpose that shown in his eyes, a challenge that she'd not seen before, as he boldly faced those his people had antagonized and began speaking. "I have returned to offer a complete and unconditional cease fire against government that the Centauri people have had issues with. Our Emperor is dead and with him, his mad dreams of conquest. Our current ruler has ordered cessation of hostilities and I have been ordered to began recompense to these governments."

"Londo," Sheridan said. "It's not going to be that easy..."

"Of course not, Captain," he said easily. "I would not expect it to be, yes? However we are taking those first tentative steps to end this war and prepare for the greater one to follow."

Guinan watched Neroon carefully. He seemed ready to pounce on the Centauri Ambassador and refrained from doing so only because of Delenn's presence. But he couldn't completely restrain himself.

"Have you come pleading for your miserable lives?" he asked Londo. "If so, you have done so in vain. This grand display will not keep the Minbari from extracting revenge for what you have done," he growled.

Londo turned and faced the large Minbari with complete confidence and unwavering courage. "Your Commander has already agreed to this in principle."

'_Good for you Guinan'_ thought as Neroon's mouth fell open.

--

Michael shook his head in dismay. He was going to be late for his date with Deanna. Ten minutes earlier they'd received a message from the _USS Rantoul_ to be soon arriving at the station. The continuum distortion drive flared in its usual fashion just before a small ship appeared in normal space. Looking remarkably like the _Yeager_, it moved slowly towards the _Ambassador_ some fifteen klicks aft of the station.

"This is the Federation starship _Rantoul_ requesting permission to enter _Babylon Five_ space." The screen activated and Michael found himself looking at a familiar face.

"Permission granted," Garibaldi said smiling. "Welcome to _Babylon Five_."

"Good to be here. I am Lieutenant Commander Thomas Riker. May I ask to whom am I addressing?"

"Michael Garibaldi, Chief of Security. I assume you're going directly to _Enterprise_. Good luck."

"Thank you."

It will be good when the twins see each other Michael thought. Thomas and William really did look alike, even if Thomas was a bit on the scrawny side. He was glad that Deanna's fling with Commander Riker hadn't worked out. That would have been rough. Now he was curious as to which Riker she had been involved with.

TBC


	33. Chapter 30

_Hey Chris1978: Worry not! I have no intentions of adding any more crossovers. The stargate portion has been in the planning stage for over a year now and IT WILL NOT BE SG-1!!! No O'Neill, Sam, Daniel, SG-1 team, no wraith, no Goa'uld. None of it. Doesn't exist in this universe as you know it. Wait and see._

_Capt. Supermarket 2004-10-24 1 I haven't said how large the enemy forces are yet but they are significant. The posting coming out in December will detail the details. _

_Ren: Garibaldi felt Deanna, not _ _Laurel__. I didn't make that clear enough. There's a bond there and it's getting stronger and Michael doesn't fully understand it yet. As for Neroon's attitude? Wait for this one. You will like it. Notice I have a little comparison between the Minbari in Veneer' and TWS. _

_Thank you, everyone for your wonderful comments!!! Please keep them coming. _

_ Now on with the story. _

_**Chapter 30**_

_**Paradox- The Armageddon conflict-Part 6   
**_

**_Cook 1_ Colony:**

The United Planets cruiser _C-57-D_ arrived in the Cooke system a full day before the Earth Alliance cruisers and that made Captain Adams ecstatic. The modifications to the hyperdrive system now allowed them to travel faster than mankind-at least from his universe's Earth-could have imagined. Most of it was due to Robby, the robot created by a genius, would-have-been, father-in-Law. It had modified the engines, gravity systems and the updated inertia systems with a little input from the Federation Officer, Lieutenant Commander Data. It hadn't taken that long either, especially since his ship's technology was at the very edge of the breakthrough in the first place. Alien technology wasn't necessary to make the needed jump. As a result, his cruiser was now faster than anything in this region of space.

The hyperdrive engines manipulated hyperspace in a manner different from anything that this universe had seen before. But at the same time even though the approach getting into hyperspace was differed, his hyperspace and 'theirs' was connected. His ship could 'see' other vessels in their hyperspace and from what their navigator Robby, had told him the _C-57-D_ could navigate jumpspace without the need for beacons to determine their relative position.

Oh, how that made their value increase!

Even the Federation ships couldn't do that in jumpspace, although, now that they had refined their own sensors, they could detect his ship in hyperspace. Several governments had approached them, offering generous amounts of currency for their technology. Needing the money, he did sell the synthesizer technology from Robby's data to the Minbari and a couple of the league of Nonaligned Worlds members. It wasn't the famed replicator technology used by the Federation ships. It was a step behind and not instantaneous, taking as long as a week to produce certain complex crystalline formations, but it was easier to develop and manufacture and a lot less costly. There was the also added incentive that the technology could be bought, something that was almost impossible with Federation tech.

And it recreated organic foodstuffs, made-to-order in less than fifteen minutes. Synthetic apples and pears were a big, big hit on the station. The fruits, vegetables, etc, were as good as their replicated counterparts. Adams had also decided to sell the clystron-based hyperdrive communications technology enabling anyone to transmit and receive in hyper or normal space with none of the limitations. Modifications would allow for real time navigation in hyperspace and it was faster than tachyon transmissions. That was going to be a big hit. If they were going to be stuck here, the might as well be filthy, stinking rich. But they had to survive first and that meant that they needed to pull their weight against whatever was coming their way.

And even EarthDome had changed their attitudes since the war. Earth was in serious trouble and he was personally delighted that he had made the decision to head to _Babylon 5_ instead of there. The plague had spread across the planet and more and more deaths were being recorded at a terrifying rate. Mars, still a colony in this reality, was screaming that they wanted nothing to do with Earth and was seriously considering joining the Proxima III and Cooke colonies in forming their own union.

"Skipper, we have the Cooke Colony. Lieutenant governor Akinson's on the comm.-board."

"Thank God you're here," The blond-haired woman yelled. Behind her, he could see that the room was disheveled. There had been some sort of fight. "Where's the rest of EarthForce?" Looking at the screen, she squinted. "What's with the different uniforms?" Then: "Who are you?"

"We're from _Babylon Five_," he answered. "We're not a part of Earth Alliance but several of your cruisers will be here within twenty-fours."

"You're part of the rebel group, the ones with Sheridan," she assumed. The woman looked at the image of his vessel. "They should have sent a bigger ship," she said as the cynicism fairly dripped from her lips.

"What's happened here?" Adams demanded. He didn't want to sound too brisk with the woman. Whatever had happened here had obviously stressed her out.

"We were attacked by some unidentified race," was the response as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We believe they destroyed Cooke III. We haven't been able to contact them in the last twelve hours. Several of the jumpgates in the region were destroyed. Whoever they were bombed us from orbit. We think it was the Centauri."

"How many people?" he quietly asked.

"Only about a thousand were killed in the attack here" she responded. "But many of use were injured. They took out our power station and the spaceport. We're basically trapped here, helpless. Why would they do such a thing?"

"I don't believe that it's the Centauri," Adams said. "This is something else."

"Earth has been ignoring us for the last two months," was her bitter reply. "We've been detecting various ships, many of them unknown. We've been sending constant data streams to them, but we never received a response-until now. Then we saw the fleet, just before we lost contact with everyone."

"What was the overall size of the fleet?"

I don't have a clue. At the time, I wasn't interested in counting the number of ships dropping bombs on us. They were ships like we've never seen before. They simply appeared above Cooke III and we haven't heard from anyone since. They didn't seem to consider us much of a threat, so they left us alone for the most part. We don't know what happened to Cook II, either."

"We'll check it out."

"Why waste your time?" the woman asked. "It's plain that Earth doesn't care about us. First they call us traitors, and treated us like salves. And then, when we need them, they're not around."

"I can't speak for your government Lieutenant Governor Akinson. But I promise they will be here and we're not moving until they do."

_**Babylon Five:**_

There was quite a stir when both the Minbari fleet and a small squadron of Narn warships lead by a Klingon battle cruiser entered _B5_ space. CnC fully expected a battle to break out between the Narn and the lone Centauri Primus and it was somewhat of a surprise that nothing other than a slight shouting match had occurred.

KahriG'Kar arrived by transporter about the same time as did Captain Garrett. G'Kar was absolutely delighted by the new technology given to them by the Klingons. Unlike the Prime Directive mandated by the Federation, much of the Klingon technology was being shared with the Narn and the Narn had reciprocated for all they were worth. Their planet was in shambles, the result of the Centauri's mass driver assault. But in the recent months, Klingon replicator tech had helped the planet and its people to recover far quicker than anyone thought possible. The planet's atmosphere was still filled with dust, the temperature, cooling. With the help of small transporters designed to filter the dust and dirt from the planet's atmosphere, the Narns were quickly cleaning the atmosphere of pollutants. That was very, very good but eventually it would present several drawbacks.

Soon the other nations would find out what the Homeworld had and then, Narn space would be filled with spies and raiders. Several small ships, some of them shuttle-sized, had been retrofitted with high-speed impulse engines, and gravity and inertia systems. And they were well on their way to producing their own warp engine in about two years. And being the first, they intended to make a killing in the market when everyone came to them for the technology. Therefore security around Narn was going to be tight. Thank G'Quanthat there were security trained Narn on B5. He was sure that he could make an arrangement with Mr. Garibaldi to help to train more as needed. And if the Kahri's plans turned out, then security would be a major consideration. His relationship with Mr. Garibaldi would be very fruitful if he planned it correctly. The Human was an expert in security matters and a trusted friend as well. If and when he retired, G'Kar intended to offer Michael a capital job as the CEO of a security-consulting corporation on Narn. With his help it could be one of the best in the galaxy.

There were only a few number of Klingons that had survived the transition into this universe, less than four hundred, but they were being treated like royalty and were now somewhat spoiled by all of the attention. From them, the Narns now had upgraded weapons and shields for their ships and they were now using the abandoned Centauri space station orbiting their planet as a major industrial center to generate and transport needed items. Housing supplies and food created from the replicators were being ship planetside as soon as it was generated. Even with this magical technology, they were still in desperate need, but now re-energized, the Narn population was fast recovering.

"Wonderful device," he excitedly whispered to an irritated EarthForce member as he walked by. "I highly recommend them. But first, I suggest that you stop trying to kill each other and get on, as you Humans say, 'the bandwagon' before you're left too far behind." Smiling, he continued on his way, comforted by the fact that the Earth Alliance Human wanted to hurt him.

On the other hand, Alyt Rannaonn absolutely hated being transported from one place to another by having your body broken down and re-constructed someplace else. The sensation itself wasn't unpleasant, but the implications inherent with its very existence were. These Federationists took for granted technologies that the Minbari hadn't come close to producing. And in the back of his mind he dreaded what would happen if a fleet of their ships came roaring into the region. That was a problem that he would have to talk to Neroon about in detail as soon as possible. Talking to Delenn was a lost cause, involved in a scandalous relationship with a Human, a married one, no less.

What had begun as a small private meeting was rapidly becoming a large conference. G'kar and Londo amazingly sat done next to one another and even more surprisingly shared a drink.

"I still hate you with every fiber of my being, you know," G'kar said in a manner that sounded like he was discussing the weather. "I nearly died from excitement when I heard about the explosion that killed your emperor. I truly hope there is something left to bury of your beloved leader."

Londo didn't take the bait much to G'kar's disappointment. "Some things are for the best," he had told the Narn.

G'Kar stunned himself when he had asked the Centauri, "are you alright?" and realized that he had truly meant it.

_How unexpected. _

"I have been to Z'ha'dum," Londo said as though his comment had said it all. "And now it is coming to us."

**USS** _**Enterprise: **_

Thomas Riker always liked the cut of the Colonial brown uniform as opposed to the Federation red and black jumpsuits that was so common among the Federation. But there was no way-absolutely, no way- he had any intentions of wearing the cape when he beamed onboard the _Enterprise_. That would be a bit too much.

"_Ready for transport,"_ the transporter officer told him.

"Six to beam over."

The familiar feel of the transporter took control and next, he was on _Enterprise_. He immediately recognized Captain Picard and Transporter Chief O'Brien. There was a blond with short-cropped hair, looking remarkably like Adjutant Sela if she were Romulan, and there was Doctor Beverly Crusher.

"Welcome onboard the battleship _Enterprise_."

'_Battleship, not starship',_ Riker thought to himself. _That's something new._

There was a slight pause as Picard's half smile faltered before he regained his composure. In fact all of them had responded in one way or another at his obvious similarity to Commander Riker.

"Forgive me Lieutenant Commander," Picard said. "Your resemblance to Commander William Riker is astonishing."

Thomas smiled. "William and I share a unique history," he said slowly. "It's the result of a transporter accident. There was a problem getting us back to the ship so the transporter chief used a double lock. One of us made it through. The other lock was terminated as per standard procedure, but I found myself reflected back to Nevala IV. And I was stuck there for eight years. We're both William in every way, but I chose to use the name Thomas. This happened in my reality."

Crusher nodded and did O'Brien.

"So you're William Riker," O'Brien whispered.

"We both are. But that's in the past. What's done is done."

"Stand by for transport," O'Brien said once more. As Transporter Chief, he understood more than most people about the delicate balance between successful transportations and complete disaster. A second transport completed its cycle and Captain Sisko along with two Romulans appeared.

"Sela," Thomas said as he turned to greet her. "We were wondering what happened to you."

"Q," she spat. She was about to start venting until her eyes spotted someone familiar-

-Then froze when she saw the one person that could not have existed. "It can't be. You're dead." Shock collided with rage; confusion warred against shame. Q had made good his threat. This was an absolute nightmare in the making.

Meanwhile, Tasha Yar stared unabashedly at the Romulan. She was dumbfounded by the similar features that was so close to hers-but older, harder-

-With Vulcanoid ears.

"Who are you!?"

"That's your daughter, Lieutenant," Thomas answered as everyone turned to stare at him.

"My mother is dead," Sela snarled in response. "She's a quantum anomaly." Her voice was stiff with anger, fear, and a bit of shame added for flavoring.

"No," Thomas corrected. "She is your mother." He shook his head. "We all have a lot to talk about."

He felt sorry for them both. He really did and now he understood why Janeway had given him this wonderful responsibility. Paradox. Who else better to explain this than him?

**Combat log 53268.3**

_This has truly been one of the strangest meetings that have ever had the pleasure to grace the _Enterprise_. Every single individual here has been affected by temporal causality in one form or another. What I have learned has made me rather pessimistic as to the outcome of this adventure. Lieutenant Commander Riker is being fairly cautious, and understandably so, as he has begun to explain the current conditions in the Federation he knows. _

_The Romulan woman Sela, and my Security Officer Tasha, are torn between the need to communicate with or attempt to kill, one another. For safety, I have separated them. Commander Riker has taken a dislike to his counterpart, an action I can understand if I were in his position. Man considers himself unique and when he finds out that he isn't, it-takes time to adjust. Only Commander Sisko seems to be taking this in stride. _

_As Captain of the _Enterprise_ I am torn between keeping an open mind concerning this entire extraordinary event and continuing the rushed repairs of my ship. Thomas Riker has offered his entire crew's resources to help in the repairs for which I am grateful. The _Rantoul_ is more advanced than the _Yeager_ and their understanding of engineering is more than ten to fifteen years in advance of our own. This is very likely due to the high cost of war with the Klingons. This preliminary meeting and the one with Admiral Janeway will participate in will determine which actions I must take. If this galaxy is doomed to the Sinhindrea, then the questions become 'should we stay'? Or do we even have a choice in the matter? I am not ready to give up on our return home. _

**Conference Room 3: **

"The Admiral will give you the details," Thomas had told them. "But there has been a temporal war in our universe and you've been caught up in it. I understand that Captain Sisko has informed you of most of it, but I'm here to help fill in some of the gaps. While I am not privy to all of the information, I do know that the two _Enterprises_ and _K'mpec's Honor_ were caught in the battles wake.

"We do know that before you were separated, the first _Enterprise-D_ was destroyed saving the _Enterprise-C_ which returned back through the temporal rift to the exact moment and place that it left. It was destroyed in the battle with Romulan warbirds. There were a few captives, including a Lieutenant Tasha Yar," he said.

Glancing at his Lieutenant, Tasha, Picard could see dozens of emotions splayed across her face.

"When Captain Garrett died, the result of a Klingon sneak attack, the Lieutenant's request to be allowed to accompany the _Enterprise-C_ was granted. The _'C'_ made it through and the timeline was repaired but not completely fixed. Tasha was captured by the Romulans and produced a child-Sela."

"Why did my counterpart allow Lieutenant Yar to go into the past, thereby changing the timeline," Picard asked. "He should have understood the risks involved in creating temporal paradoxes."

"Sir," Thomas said to him. "The _Enterprise-C_ created an altered timeline in which Tasha was still alive. In the original timeline she was dead, killed in a useless conflict. Your counterparts were very close to one another-like family in many ways. He wanted to give her a chance at life, just like the entity called Q gave you a chance by sending you here instead of allowing you to cease to exist. And the twenty-two year war with the Klingons never happened. But Sela was a result, the price if you will, for peace."

"But the Federation is at war," Picard stated, "with an enemy called the Cylon Empire. Every ship is needed there. If we go back, we can contribute to make a difference."

"Yes, Sir," Thomas answered immediately although he didn't think it was possible and judging by their faces, they had their doubts, too. "But before that we had a skirmish with the Klingons, instigated by the Dominion. The Federation, the Klingons and the Romulans ultimately banded together to defeat them. Collectively, we've lost thousands of ships. We were still reeling from that conflict when the Cylon Empire came along. Now, everybody's fighting against them. The planets Remus and Romulus have been destroyed. Andoria came within a hairs-breath of suffering the same fate as Romulus. Bajor is in a life and death struggle with the Cylons. The Dominion has entered the war against the Cylons, because they know they're next on the list. We're talking tens of thousands of ships, sir. The Gorn are about to get into it. We're in talks with the First Federation."

There was absolute silence as the words soaked in.

"On top of that," Thomas continued, "the Borg have made a deal with the Cylons and you have no idea how that makes this." He could tell them about the Borg later. Janeway would no doubt give them more information than they would have ever wanted to here about the Collective.

"That war is a part of our mission, but so was finding you. And we needed to evaluate the threat of the Sinhindrea. If we survive the Cylons, then the Sinhindrea will make our current war seem like warm up exercise. Thousands of worlds have been destroyed by them. They possess a hatred of and hunger for all life and what is worse is that they are here."

"I've heard the name Borg, several times," Picard said. "Who are they?"

"Another enemy we have to defend against," he said. "That is another long story that you need to be filled in on."

Picard suspected that this meeting had to be the most exhausting meetings he'd ever chaired.

The meeting continued for another hour before they broke into smaller groups. Sela and Tasha left together, followed by two security guards. Thomas and William were talking. Geordi, like a kid in a candy store, was busy pumping the engineering staff of the _Rantoul_ for more information.

Lieutenant Troi seemed somewhat uncomfortable around Riker and they both kept staring at one another. What that was about, he had no idea. But Deanna had returned to _Babylon Five _to join Captain Garrett, who was unable to attend this meeting.

Colonials were the new government that brought these enhanced Cylons to the Alpha quadrant, the Federation was more powerful and advanced than he'd imagined, and even the Romulans were different from everything he'd known.

Did they even have a place there anymore?"


	34. Chapter 31 Challenge

_**Chapter 31**_

**_Challenge - The Armageddon conflict part 7_**

**Three weeks earlier:**

**USS _Voyager:_**

"Admiral?" It was B'Elanna. "We've got problems here. The QSD doesn't like this space at all. The simulations we've been running have not been promising. The Bedemite crystal configuration as it is now will not allow the quantum energy converter to generate a stable slipstream matrix. We're working on it now. So we're stuck with warp drive until we can deal with this."

"How long will it take?"

"Not long," she answered. "We're close to a solution now, but we will have to travel a lot slower."

"How much slower?" Chakotay asked.

"Only about point one five light years per second. And that's when we've run enough simulations and I'm satisfied we wouldn't blow up.

_Barely a crawl._ "Do what you can."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Both the Captain and the Admiral returned to the patiently waiting entity.

"Lorien, we have a deal. Will you give us the coordinates to Earth?"

He paused for a second, the moved towards Data. His eyes seemed to look deep into the android. "Fascinating," he whispered. "Here are the coordinates you need."

"All stop," Chakotay ordered.

An hour later Lieutenant Torres and her engineering crew had completed the configuration changes and were now working with the Klingons to get their system aligned.

"I have slipstream drive up to point one eight light years per second," B'Elanna proudly announced. "I recommend we use it sparingly."

"Understood. Good work ,B'Elanna." She turned to commander Data. "How long using slipstream?"

"At this distance, twenty eight minutes, fifty-seven seconds."

"Inform Commander Riker on the Rantoul to follow us in and stay close. Tell

Captain Kagth we're leaving in three minutes."

A half hour after the three ships had transitioned into slipstream, a distortion in space and time occurred. According to the crew of the C-57D, it would be described as a deceleration event caused by a vessel exiting a hyperspace shunt. Two eight hundred meter long Sinhindrea heavy corvette analogs popped into normal space. The Clovien hunters had scented their prey but the signals had stopped here, and abruptly, the telepathic scent all but disappeared. However the scent was just strong enough to point the way. The planet called Earth was located in that general direction. A recon force had been sent to Earth earlier and it was deemed a low-lever threat.

But things had changed. The weapons used by these creatures were unnerving and the discovery of the invisible minefield that refused to be destroyed had been horrific. The Colony wasn't complete and now it was cut off. Less than a thousand military vessels had made the transition. The civilian ships outnumbered them by a ratio of four to one. Those numbers didn't include the survivors of the six week war against the ones called the shadows. That was a great victory but the costs had been high. Those aliens were also almost as aggressive the Vorlons had been, however the loss of their homeworld (and several hundred million of their species) had taken the fight out of them and the Sinhindrea were able to consolidate their forces. Probes of surrounding space and interrogations of captured Shadow warriors had revealed several major powers. The Vorlon territory was largely vacated and now deemed a low threat. The Minbari were the most dangerous powerful species in the immediate region, and their technology, relatively inferior. However, they had the numbers, over four thousand capital ships. Initially, that made them the priority threat. The Narn government was nothing, and the Centauri were weaker than the Minbari. But they also had a large number of ships. The ones called Humans were weaker than the Centauri and in the middle of an unimportant, wasteful conflict. Together they might have been a threat to the small. They were not together and would fall easily. That had also been the evaluation of the captured Shadows.

The captured Shadow had been in error. Its evaluation of the threat potential from those called Humans was greater than the Shadows understood. The Minbari would have to wait. The cleansing was turning into a war of survival.

**Now:**

_**Babylon Five:**_

Alyt Rannaonn stalked into the small, but rapidly filling conference room and nearly froze in his tracks, taken aback at the sight that of seeing a Vorlon in quiet, but intense conversation, with a Human no less! Vorlons were never known to be so animated and being so in front of an audience.

_Strange. _

But that wasn't why he was here.

With purposeful arrogance, he brushed past Captain Sheridan, pausing for an instant to glare at a perplexed Rachel Garrett. Then his eyes locked onto Delenn and Neroon. He didn't give them the honored and respected greeting. He simply spoke to them as if they were inferiors.

"When our leader Dukhat died, we wept because the best of us was gone. Killed by them," he added just loud enough for Sheridan and Garrett to overhear. "We defended his spirit from the Soul Hunters and we brought those responsible to their knees.

"They," he continued meaning the Humans and everyone knew it, "should have died then, but you Delenn, and the Grey Council, for some reason surrendered on the very _eve _of our victory. Our people have never understood the reason why we surrendered and we were never told. And now the Council hides at _Babylon 5_, a Human built station," he growled, "while our people prepare for the battle against the coming darkness."

"Rannaonn," Neroon hissed. "You forget yourself!"

"I forget nothing," he hissed back. Around them, the delegates moved away from them, just in case something drastic should happen. One never knew about the Minbari.

"We need you at home preparing for the defense of our territories and instead you're here conferring with aliens. We prepared for the war with the Shadows and their minions came. We fought back and we prevailed. And now a darkness greater than the Shadows has come; and instead of leading the charge, you cower with the Humans."

Neroon couldn't decide whether to be insulted, enraged or both. However, Rannaonn was simply voicing exactly the same thing as he had been thinking. Now that it had been voiced out loud, he hadn't liked what he'd heard. "The Humans are not the enemy here," he said, now truly believing it for the first time. "I have no great love for the Humans. But the ones here have been more than honorable and we will need them in the coming war."

"Exactly what do we _need _them for?" Rannaonn fired back. "Their technology is embarrassingly inferior." He turned and looked directly at Garrett. "Except for yours," he added coldly. "Yours is tolerable. It may even be useful."

The Federation Captain gave him her most contemptuous stare. "Believe it or not, we were considering this very thing," she said. "We were considering a full disclosure of our technology to you. But your sanctimonious attitude leaves something to be desired."

_They were only considering. What was it that had to think about_? "You would deny us this technology that could help to save my people?"

"Yes."

Rannaonn bristled at the curt reply and Delenn was just about to issue a blistering tirade against the warrior. However, Neroon silenced both Sheridan and the Satai before either could say anything. He was curious as to where this would go. This was a test he realized and he sensed that this moment would define the relationship between humans and Minbari for the next thousand years.

"I thought you said it was just tolerable?" Garrett had moved closer to the large Minbari Captain, a bold move. "You see, I know what you want," she whispered to him. "If you acquired shield technology, what would you do with it?"

"I would use it in the best interest of the Minbari people."

"If you had it others would want it was well," she reasoned loud enough for all to hear.

"What lesser species desire is not my concern," responded the Minbari just as loudly.

The tension in the room increased as Human and Minbari now directly faced one another.

Unafraid of the huge being glaring at her, Garret unleashed. "Alyt Rannaonn, you're a selfish, conceited individual, trying to convince others how strong you are. You are not worthy of acquiring my technology."

"Speak carefully," he warned surprised at her outburst. "I have killed hundreds of Humans for less cause than what you just have given me. You will surrender your shielding technology to me, or I will take it from your ship's crushed hull."

Her smile was predatory. "So you would attack us because we won't share our toys with you?"

"If necessary," he answered quickly, "if you are foolish enough to test me." This Human female was offering challenge! Amused, he decided to see how far she would be willing to go down this dangerous road. "If I decide to take your ship, you will not live long enough to regret it."

"How typical," she sneered. Turning her back to him, she faced Neroon. "We are in neutral territory. Am I correct?"

"Yes," he answered.

"That will not save you," Rannaonn yelled, now embarrassed by this woman who had the audacity to turn her back to him.

"And this person over there," she said, pointing at an increasingly angry Rannaonn," has issued a challenge to me and my crew. Is that correct?"

He hadn't thought of it like that, but in a way it 'was' a challenge. He would have certainly considered so. "Yes, it is."

"Then I want you to be witnesses and the Grey council as well. I accept this challenge."

"You can't!" Delenn said. The last thing they needed now was another potential war! Didn't Rachel understand that?

"With all due respect Delenn, ever since we've come here, the Minbari warrior caste have been snipping at us, making snide comments and in general worried that we were here to challenge you apparent 'top dog' position you seem to be so fond of." Now she faced the other Minbari. "Neroon, you're been polite up to a point, but we can tell how you really feel. You're not frightened of us as much as you are concerned with the safety of your people-and your status. Up to a point, that is understandable. But, and you know this Neroon, we've not been a threat to you, but despite all of our conversations you have never fully understood that we were serious." She turned to glare at Alyt Rannaonn although she wasn't speaking directly to him. "This person here has simply said what you've been thinking.

"Since we've been here, we've helped to stop EarthForce from killing their own people, they attacked us once; tried to steal our technology. The Centauri attacked us' wanted our technology, couldn't get it and started a war with EarthAlliance. The EA indulged in a smear campaign and we've been threatened and insulted several times by your people, despite our peaceful intentions. _Voyager_ came to Earth's help and Clark tried to kidnap them for our technology. That didn't work and he tried to destroy it regardless of the consequences. Now, '_you're'_ threatening to start a war unless we turn over in our technology to you in spite of the fact that there's a force out there planning to kill us all. Every single race here has acted like a pack of thieves. So, this ends now. I'm tired of this."

'_What did she just say'?_ "Are you so eager to die, Human?" demanded Rannaonn. _Other races stole. The Minbari didn't._ The thieves comment had really insulted him.

"Death comes to us all," she said quietly. "It's how you live that is important. If you consider your pride as more important than the safety and lives of your crew, then so be it. Be it known that if I am defeated then we will make our technology available to you, in detail without reservations. However, if I defeat _Blood of Saints'_, your people will sign a non-aggression treaty with us and get off our backs with all of this foolish posturing!" She literally screamed. "And-if you survive-you will be my personal attendant for one standard month. The humility should do you some good, although I doubt it."

"I agree," he yelled back. _'I intend to make sure you die before that ever_ happens' he screamed in his mind. "_Denn'Sha_, to the death. It will be a loss to lose one such as you. Your vessel's knowledge would have been a valuable asset in the war to come. But your death will give me great personal satisfaction."

She ignored him yet again, making him even angrier. "Guinan, I invoke the Federation law 106 of honorable challenge."

"Ookaay," Guinan said slowly. "Rule 106 of the Federation code applies-in this case. You are aware of the consequences of your actions and the responsibility on your shoulders that this carries?"

"Of course," Garrett relied in all seriousness. "Kosh, do you agree and will you serve as a witness?"

"The circle expands and contracts and forms anew."

Guinan rolled her eyes. "He means yes," she answered as Kosh's visor narrowed. "Just like my father," she whispered.

Sheridan and Delenn could feel the waves of exasperation emanating from the Vorlon.

"Neroon?"

**xxx**

_Insanity! _

"We will not interfere," he said. This is not what he wanted. This shouldn't be occurring. But he couldn't stop it. If the _Ambassador_ lost-and he suspected that it would-then large number of unnecessary deaths would occur and the alliance that he'd worked at would be severely damaged, possibly irreparability!

If _Ambassador_ were to defeat _Blood of Saints', _then the Minbari would be forced to re-evaluate their entire existence and purpose in the universe. Their status as the most advanced of the younger races would then cease to exist. This entire situation was intolerable and he had no idea as to how to stop it. Either win would be a disaster. The universe's sense of humor is truly evil!

"We will meet outside the system at these coordinates" Captain Garrett told the hostile Alyt, "in one hour. Be there on time," she said.

Rannaonn stared daggers at her and snatched the padd from her hand. "Human, may you die in honor and much pain."

This was no time for these foolish histrionics. "There is no honor in this," Rannaonn," Neroon hissed. "Stop it now!"

"For the Honor of the Wind Swords," was his only reply.

"One to beam up," The Federation captain said as returned the defiant stare. "Get yourself together, Rannaonn. Make sure your ship is in top shape because you're going to need every advantage you can get. Energize." The Human disappeared in front of everyone. This was the first time all of the representatives had seen matter transportation firsthand. It came as a shock to quite a few.

Neroon stood there, not knowing what, in Valen's name, he was going to do.

**xxx**

The _Paphros_ and two other Earth Alliance vessels exited hyperspace three A.U.s distance from the colony much to Adams' relief. His ship's scanner had detected and was tracking a large signal for the second time headed in the general direction of Earth's territory. The Clystron hyperspace scanner (the CHS) had detected something like this once before. With the improvements completed, the small ship was more valuable than ever. And since the species in this universe acted like a pack of sharks if they even smelled new technology, Adams knew that he had to be as strong as possible if he and his crew were to survive. The people at _Babylon Five_ were okay, but he didn't trust EarthForce and he wasn't fully comfortable with the Federation clan either.

The Humans of this galaxy were understandable. It was a natural progression given their history. Regardless of their activities of late, they were fairly open and got along with other species reasonably well. But the Federation had taken that same level of cooperation and pushed it to a ridiculous level. Aliens mixed with humans to the degree that would one day was certain to be a recipe for destruction. Granted, they apparently had had more contact with different species and those species were much more humanoid than anything in his or this universe had but still…

Captain Sisko was a dangerous man, no doubt about it, but he didn't seem as aggressive as Adams had first believed. Nonetheless, he was still a bit uncomfortable with a man like Captain Sisko in command of a warship, but he was getting used to it. It was still amazing how different the same world could be in different dimensions. In his universe the Confederacy had won the Civil War; the Union had won in this universe; and the Feds had the Eugenics wars-everything was so different.

Adams had always considered himself an open-minded man. He'd deal with these people as necessary. And they needed all of the help they could get. Robby was picking two huge signals in the hyperspace region near Earth. One had stopped some two light-years away. But the other had been steadily heading for the Sol system for the last few days. The unusual signal had been initially small but had gathered in strength in the last nine hours.

"Do you think it's the Drakh?" Captain Clark asked as soon as he had informed the small squadron. The Captain was still amazed that his ship could see and track other vessels in hyperspace.

"No. Their signal is different as you can see." His image was replaced with the scanner image as he continued to speak. "These signals over to your left are the Drakh. Their signal has faded rapidly, an indication that they are exiting hyperspace between the _B5_ station and Earth. This other signal is heading directly for Earth. That signal we've seen before."

"Who are they?" the woman asked. By the look in her eyes, she already knew.

He felt a chill pass through his body. "I believe they are Sinhindrea," he confirmed. "That's not all. We have a small signal about two light-years distant, on an intercept course towards the larger signal. We're going to investigate."

"No," objected a very concerned Clark. "If they are Sinhindrea, they'll take you apart. If they are capital ships you will not have a chance."

"We're the fastest around Captain Clark and that means that we can get out of trouble faster than we can get into it. That makes us the perfect choice for the mission. Someone has to confirm."

She nodded once. "Then play it safe. If it's them do not engage. Run and let _B5_ and Earth Alliance know."

"Will do, Commodore," he answered. He was rewarded with a slight frown before the communication was terminated. "Robby track and overtake the signal."

"Aye, Aye, Skipper."

"Farman, rig for combat stations. Power up all weapons energize ship's defensive perimeter."

"Aye, Skipper."

"Okay everybody. We're going on a little scouting mission. It might get rough, so everyone keep on your toes."

The small flying saucer jumped into hyperspace and began to pursue their targets.


	35. Chapter 32 Point counterpoint

_Note: the three chapters 30-32 were originally a single chapter and should really be considered as such. I separated them to give you a bit more plus it also gave me a bit of time to edit it the way I wanted. Plus this is the holidays and I have made it a tradition to always give a bit more during this time as a way of saying thanks to all of those who have read and loved-or hated-this long, long story._

_Thank you again and have a wonderful holiday._

_Now, some answers. Dear Sapfire DreamZ: I am sorry to hear your comment. I would like to know what you didn't like about so when you get a chance please let me know so I can either argue or agree with your reasons. Hope to hear from ya. _

_Ilpopi: How about now?_

_JonnyG: Guinan and Kosh have been having regular and intense conversations since the first part 'A Universe of Change' began. She is responsible for saving his life. He is also aware of who and what she really is. Plus she listens and he's actually talked to her. In many ways she is becoming a mediator between the younger races and himself and she doesn't take any crap from him. Guinan is something that Kosh does not have-a real non Vorlon friend. She also respects him and he has freely reciprocated. Originally I had planned to write this story from Guinan's and Sisko's point of view. That's changed somewhat but part of that is still with me._

_Without further ado-on with the story and happy holidays._

**Chapter 32**

_**Boiling Kettle  
**_

**The Armageddon Conflict- part 8**

As one might have expected, word spread across the station at the speed of light. No one knew exactly how the coordinates leaked out but there were several ships already there to see this strange duel between what were considered two of the most powerful races in the quadrant. EarthForce ships were there; the Centauri ship that carried Londo was there as well. Menroi's _Sharlin_ was present and in a stance of stunned defiance, he had offered to be Garrett's second.

The Grey Council was there and stood silent, lost in the moment, terrified by whichever way this match would turn out. Other ships attended, too. Kosh was there, and Guinan was with him on his shuttle. Evidently his ship had taken a liking to her. But all of them were at a safe distance from area zero.

**USS _Voyager_:**

If there had been any doubt in his mind, it had been erased forever the moment Colonel Griffin completed transport onto this Federation ship called _Voyager_. The transport had felt somehow smoother and as he gaped at the bridge, he knew that things he knew to be true had been forever altered. The casual mix of Human and alien crew, the layout of the bridge and a lot of small things quite clearly showed that this vessel was far in advance of the _Ambassador_ and even the _Enterprise_. The crew had gawked back at him, confirming the fact that he did look like the famous Captain Kirk of their universe. It hadn't been a simple fabrication on Garrett's part.

He didn't come here to gape like some floundering fish out of water. He needed to speak to the Admiral and the Captain. They needed information from an independent source. The first thing however was that the Admiral had insisted on treating some of the injuries he'd sustained in the battle. Never one for doctors, he reluctantly complied.

-And was very glad he did.

The medical facility on the ship was a wonder. And the holographic doctor was something he wished every ship in EarthForce had. All of his minor injuries had been treated and even the micro-malignancy he didn't even know he had had been eliminated. His slowly failing eyesight had been corrected in a matter of moments. His vision was at least twenty-twenty now and corrected surgery hadn't even been needed.

And now the formidable resources of their medical expertise had been at the disposal of the foremost doctors on Earth. The planet was quarantined but _Voyager's_ transporters had beamed down some amazing (and easy to use!) equipment to help find the plague vector. Without it, that elusive vector could have remained unidentified for months; on this issue every single doctor and researcher had agreed on. He still smiled a bit hysterically when he had observed the Earth Alliance researchers drooling over a molecular-electron microscope imaging system. They were offering enough for it, to allow the Doctor to buy his own country. He would have enjoyed their groveling much more if the situation hadn't been so dire.

This plague was unlike any plague ever to hit Earth and the fact that the vector had been so hard to find had given the doctors on _Voyager_ the first clues as to what it was. The holographic Doctor's (a wonder in a storm of wonders) investigations led him to culprit within the first twenty-four hours.

Looking like a cross between miniature circuit and a sixteen-legged tick with dozens of visual receptors, it _swam_ from cell to cell, burrowing into its victim and multiplied every nine hours infecting new cells. It was a nanite, a microscopic machine as small as a viral particle. It invaded the Human host and hid within the structures of the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum of the T-lymphocytic white cells circulating throughout the body. Griffin had seen the vector and that vision had stayed with him in his nightmares.

xxx

But Federation nanite technology was advanced to an amazing degree. The Doctor, his staff, and several of the EarthDome scientists were busy comparing something called Borg-derived-nanites to the Shadow plague. Twice the Doctor had modified them to combat the Shadow counterparts. The results so far were only moderately encouraging. The two micro-machine species hated each other (that was the best way he could describe their actions as they literally attacked one another as soon as they came in close proximity to one another). 

The first result was the reproductive, exponential explosion of Shadow nanites to combat their enemy. The Borg nanites lost that one. In the second test, the larger Borg nanites won the struggle but disrupted every cell involved, the perfect example of saving the patient while killing him in the process.

EarthDome Doctor James Kenwright came up with an intriguing idea to simply have the Borg nanites dissociate their Shadow counterparts, analyzed the remains and transmit the information back to the researchers for more detailed analysis. Several hours later, the programming was completed and the Borg medical nanites were let loose.

They went after their targets with a vengeance, assimilating and tearing apart the Shadow plague. Information was flowing nicely and from that data, the researchers discovered that a specific, coded signal could effectively inactive the tiny machines thereby simultaneously terminating the across the globe. That was good news.

But there was an unforeseen problem.

The Shadow nanites now felt threatened and transmitted their distress quite loudly to any others of their kind for within a three A.U. radius. Six hours later, a collected call for assistance from every single nanite on Earth to their creators was sent through hyperspace and no one recognized the scream for what it was. The signal was picked up by their masters. The Shadow force proceeded to head directly to Earth. Their plans were in jeopardy and they had no intentions of allow their plans to fall apart now, not when they were so close to striking a possibly fatal blow against the Sinhindrea.

**Jumpspace:**

Rannaonn was pleased that the _Ambassador_ was at the desired coordinates according to his tactical data. He had expected nothing less from the overly proud, loud-mouthed, insulting Human female Captain. She must have been mad to suggest this infantile contest between the two of them. It would have been so much simpler and safer for her to have simply acquiesced to his demands. But no, she had to insult him. For that reason, she was about to learn a lesson that her Earth Alliance relatives hadn't impressed upon her. The Minbari were not to be trifled with, especially when it came to the survival of their people. This was a lesson that apparently needed repeating to these creatures.

'_Blood of Saints'_ was nothing less than a bloodied _Sharlin_ war machine. It had survived seven major conflicts, remaining unscathed until this last encounter with the Sinhindrea. That fight had very clearly impressed upon him the need to improve the protection on their vessels. Without them, the Sinhindrea warships had the edge. He wanted, no; he required the Federation shielding knowledge if the warrior caste were to do their jobs.

Humans were not a species he had great love for and the fact that these newly discovered, colonials upstarts possessed such advances galled him to no end. How they had produced such devices was beyond him. The vermin had been in space a little more than three hundred years and even after the war, they continued to spread like a pestilence across the galaxy. Simply put, they needed to remember their place in the scheme of the universe.

It was time. This would be the example. There was no personal animosity to these Humans, but none of them, wherever they came from had the right to speak to the Minbari as she had. Younger species needed to know their places least their better stomped on their more harshly than he planned to. The colonials might as well learn this small lesson now, rather than have the lesson their original world had endured the hard way.

Using the coordinates supplied by his _Nial_ fighters already in the area, his _Sharlin_ exited jumpspace from behind and almost on top of the small vessel, firing his main guns at full power, neatly bracketing the ship with his four neutron fusion cannons, followed by his ship's four fusion canons. Beams of energy, each equaling the explosive power of nearly forty megatons per second, speared towards the ship. Three of the beams solidly slammed into the ship before it suddenly accelerated, at almost impossible speed, to avoid the full brunt of the attack. The vessel had shuddered visibly from the attack, but it was still moved easily and therefore it had escaped terminal injury. He was begrudgingly impressed, since any other ship would have been a shattered piece of flotsam after a hit like that.

The vessel fired back once, twice and he almost laughed at the futility that Garrett must have been feeling-until collision alarms began blaring. A third hit from the _Ambassador_ shook _Blood of Saints' _to its core. Surprised at the amount of damage coming from the reports, he ordered full evasive before he could get hit once more.

"Report," he demanded to his equally surprised First Officer who was no longer so comfortable with the idea that this exercise was a foregone conclusion.

"They can target us sir with no problems. Decks seven through eleven were hit," he gasped. "Our gravitic defense grid did nothing to stop their weapons from hurting us. Re-enforced armor was completely burned away at the point of impact. Secondary hull suffered minor damage. Three of our anti-fighter gun mounts have been destroyed."

"Is our disruption generator working?" he yelled over the increasing din. The ship shock again, harder this time.

"It is functioning. But they're still tracking us," he answered, anger boiling away his usually cool demeanor. "We've managed to disrupt their sensors twice, but they've re-acquired us in a matter of seconds. Their energy beams are completely unknown to us."

_So, it was true._ The Federation ships had no trouble whatsoever in tracking Minbari ships whether in stealth mode or not. So, this was not going to be easy-so much the better. "All tubes set for auto-tracking and fire highest yield missiles."

Twelve missiles erupted from four missile tubes raced towards their intended target, but didn't come anywhere close to hitting the fast moving vessel that was now turning to make a second high-speed pass. Once more, he cursed the ship's incredible speed as his gunners desperately tried to hit the rapidly approaching ship. All of them were clean misses. His targeting systems were too slow he bitterly concluded, and only by bracketing the ship as his gunners were now doing could he hope to get in a lucky hit.

_Blood of Saints' _threw out enough offensive firepower to destroy a dozen vessels. He almost cheered when two of the beams managed to brush the _Ambassador's_ shields for a half second. Elated, he almost sagged in relief as the ship was knocked off course, but it was sufficient enough to stop it from gutting his ship with those phaser beam weapons. Fresh alarms assaulted his ears. Two of the main guns were damaged and a drive fin had been completely sliced off. What in Valen's name were those beams made of? His ship responded sluggishly now as it fought to maneuver while crippled. That woman had forced him into a defensive battle now. A couple of decks had been exposed to vacuum and he was still having trouble properly tracking the enemy.

The human vessel was moving off now, possibly damaged from that last strike. Seeing his target's error, he quickly ordered every weapon available to fire; then cursed soundly as the ship changed trajectory almost on a whim. It was a clean miss and now the thing was coming back. They were almost in weapons range again.

"Sir, we have a communication from Captain Garrett,"

His mouth turned into a hideous frown. She was calling to gloat. He just knew it.

He absolutely was right.

"Alyt Rannaonn," she announced coldly, in a haughty that made him want to kill her slowly instead of quickly. "Your superior attitude has led you to assume several things that is about to get your ship blown out of the stars. The first was that we couldn't detect your position in hyperspace. Our sensors tracked every movement you made. We allowed you to hit us using that sneak-up-from-behind ambush style of attacking. You did achieve first strike and I'll give you credit. That was a little bit of pride on my part. But your second mistake was to assume that you couldn't be touched. Your third mistake was that you didn't believe we could really hurt you." She looked at him carefully as he struggled to keep his face as neutral as possible. "You didn't read Menroi's reports did you?"

Eyes narrowing into slits, he discovered he was unable to respond. This couldn't be happening to him!

"Next," she continued. "I just wanted to let you know that you're within our weapons range. Got anything to say? No?"

"In Valen's name," he screamed at the crew. "Destroy that woman!"

"Not what I was hoping for," she smirked. "Time for round two." She casually stuck her finger in the air in a somewhat insulting mannerism. "Photon torpedoes-fire!"

Slit-like eyes now bulged outward as four glowing, pulsating globe-like objects, came tearing across space straight at his ship. Defensive batteries were already firing everything they had before he could even give the command. By some miracle the third missile was hit and it exploded some thousand kilometers forward. The second missile exploded ten kilometers aft and rocked his ship off its already shaky trajectory. Missiles one and four detonated five kilometers port and aft. The last thing he remembered was painfully slamming into a bulkhead, smoke filling his once immaculate bridge…

xxx

He was alive.

He had to be-because everything hurt too much. A moan, to his left and another, to his right. He took a breath and nearly doubled over in agony-multiple ribs broken he realized.

-Also a broken arm and leg, in three places.

But the deepest wound of all was that none of his fellow warrior caste would come to his ship's aid.

He could barely breathe let alone talk-but where was he? This wasn't his bridge.

"Welcome aboard the USS _Ambassador_, Alyt Rannaonn."

That voice! It was her. He was a captive, at the mercy of a Human! It was unthinkable. He prayed Death would come for him soon. Humans were known to exact vengeance when a Minbari was helpless.

"Normally I hate to see someone in as much pain as you're in," Captain Garrett said. "But it seems like pain and suffering is the only things you understand. Therefore, since I have a captive audience, I have decided that it's time for a little lecture."

He understood all right. She planned to torture him with her voice before she killed him.

"You're alive right now because I want you alive," she started. "Unlike you, I do not derive my pleasure from killing. You would have killed us without a second's thought. I chose a different path and decided that you should live, fool that I am. Let me tell you something. My ship had you targeted the instant your jump point formed and my weapons could have blown you from space before you could have even finished your transition. The mistake I made was in hoping that you wouldn't attack the moment that you exited. You were trying for an easy victory against an enemy you underestimated, a good tactic if it had worked.

"As I've said, I could have destroyed you at anytime. Your defenses are meaningless to someone who has subspace scanners. The _Ambassador_ is a battleship in every since of the word and I could have taken out two of your behemoths before you even knew I was there. You're on this ship because of our transporters and my good will. I could have beamed aboard a bomb big enough to vaporize your ship into its component atoms and you would have never known. I could have placed it in your fresher, which as I come to think of it would have made an interesting splash, but I chose not to. I could have gutted your ship in the same spot and ruptured your singularity power source, but I didn't. As strange as it may be to you, I have respect for life. I won't take it unless I am forced to. Charity and mercy is something I value that is evidently a trait the Minbari warrior caste has forgotten about.

"Understand this. My ship can handle any ship you can throw against me. The _Enterprise_ is far more powerful than the _Ambassador_, Alyt Rannaonn," she said giving him his honorific. "Look what happened to her! Two Sinhindrea almost picked her apart! From what I understand, _Voyager_ could take us both, and the _Yeager_ and a sizeable portion of Earth Force and _'they're'_ scared of the Sinhindrea. The Vorlons are gone, the Shadows defeated and we're-all of us are next."

He didn't want to, but he couldn't help but hear what she was saying and ever so slowly, the anger faded. Instead he chose to hate the correctness of her words.

"This battle was an exercise in stupidity," she continued. "When I look at you, a member of the proud Minbari, I see the personification of the word _fool_. You believe that since you've been out here for a thousand years, that you're the oldest and therefore the best. That is provincial thinking at its worst. Several of the Federation's core members have been in space for more than a thousand years. The Vulcan's over a thousand and the Andorians, too. Guinan's people have been out here almost two thousand; the Klingons, around a thousand. Humans have only been out three-hundred and fifty or so years. We're the new kids as compared to some of the others. But we're moving further all of the time, expanding for all we're worth.

"Now, let's look at it from the Minbari point of view. You've hidden in your space, safe in the knowledge that you were supreme of all of the younger races and in order to celebrate your superiority complex. Your ships mimic organic vessels so that everyone will know that you're well on your way to being the first of the new group of 'First Ones'. And your people have no idea why the Vorlons have herded you and the rest of the aliens in that direction and you didn't care, either. You call yourselves free, but you are slaves to the will of aliens who have genetically altered you to see them as god-like beings instead of what they truly are. You did all of the fighting and the Vorlons and Shadows simply watched the slaughter and calculated the odds. Entire races vanished in what amounted to a game of _'who's right'_.

"The Minbari are so rigid and structured that you're losing you ability to reproduce. Oh, yes," she said as he managed to look up at her with a hint of surprise. "Worker Caste bonds with Worker caste, Warrior to warrior with few exceptions. It's called inbreeding and I know you know this but you can't stop because it would damage your society. Suicide is preferred rather than social change. You're providing your own extinction agenda.

"You claim to be an older race, but it's time to grow up," she whispered, "If you don't, the universe will leave you behind. Now, I'm going to heal your sorry butt and those of your crew that will accept it; then you people and we are going to have a long talk after I beam you back to your people."

Beamed? The Minbari Captain blanched at the thought of using the transporter again. He cursed himself once more for showing weakness, no doubt brought on by his weakness and injuries.

The woman must have seen his weakness because her eyes betrayed her amusement. "Don't worry," she told him. "Transporters have been in use for over three hundred years and there are rumors that a scientist on-my world-discovered the technology even earlier, in the late twentieth century. It was one of the earlier experiments you understand. He used himself as a test subject, but when he transported himself, a small flying insect accompanied him without his knowledge. The result was-unfortunate," she explained nostalgically. "We learned a lot from that mistake. So don't worry," Garrett intoned. "You will be safe and secure when we take you apart at the quantum level and put you back together again. And I promise you that you won't grow wings, or feel the urge to eat garbage," she added with more than a bit of malice. Then she whispered words that were so soft that even he couldn't fully hear them. But he thought they were _'help me'_ but he wasn't sure.

Alyt Rannaonn shivered and it had nothing to do with the pain.

**_EarthSpace:_**

The Earth alliance destroyer _Armitage_ with its fighter wing escort had just completed its second circuit of their assigned patrol area. Since the civil war was over and Earth was poisoned, dozens of alien vessels were entering the system. Every single one of them were offering their medical expertise and of course, wanting to see the Federation med tech in action. That was a bizarre change in Earth's status. The Clark regime had insisted that aliens were the enemy and here they were offering their help in solving one of the greatest crises in Earth's history despite Humanity's recent, '_official stance'_ of prejudice against everyone. Strange times indeed.

Startled by the sudden noise behind him, he quickly turned to see the Communication's Officer literally screaming at navigations to jump immediately.

The Captain was aware that the woman would have never insisted on such an action unless there was something horribly wrong. _Armitage_ jumped even as the Captain demanded answers.

"Priority one order, Sir" came the hasty reply. "Several unidentified warships entered the system between Jupiter and Mars near the belt, alarms kicked in across the entire sector. We've been ordered to immediately repel the invaders."

_What is going on?_ He thought as he furiously gave orders to jump at the Mars beacon. The Drakh were back once again was his first thought. His first observation as they entered normal space was an _Omega_ being incinerated. His second observation included six other _Omegas_ simultaneously firing at the bogie closest to him and swarms of _StarFuries_ vectoring in to add to the firepower. The third thing he saw was three more of those monstrous ships coming in at an angle towards Mars while the first ship stood alone, taking everything the EarthForce ships had to deliver and then some. Smaller alien ships engaged the _StarFuries_ while the _Sharlin_-sized warship returned fire…

"Fire on that ship. Repeat, fire on that ship-

"-Oh, my God!"

**USS _Voyager:_**

"Red alert! Admiral to the Bridge! Captain to the bridge!"

Chakotay reached the bridge first. "Report, Mister Tuvok," he ordered.

"Scanners have just recorded a non-jump point hyperspace transition event near the Mars belt. Six warships and fourteen support ships have. Energy readings are consistent with Sinhindrea profiles," he said in a slightly heightened voice that betrayed his concern. "We're being scanned. They're trying to probe our computers."

"Keep them out."

"Affirmative. Defensive protocols are functioning. But, they are aware that we are here."

Captain Chakotay's face hardened. "Lieutenant, break orbit. All pilots to their fighters."

xxx

Previous reports were confirmed. Human taste originated from here. Mind flesh of this species permeated the entire system. The Clovien hunters had mind-scented the prey that had eluded them for over three time periods. Their scent matched perfectly with those that had mined the gateway to Home. The Clovien were trapped here, incomplete. The enemy technology was a threat. Quelling of this species with the force available might be difficult, but essential to the survival of the colony.

They would rip out the necessary data from the sHp'kU-minds and take the information and free the gate. If that proved unfeasible then the threat vessel was to be destroyed along with all life forms inhabiting the planet.

Two of the Clovien hunters separated and prepared themselves for the incoming enemy...

(TBC)

Next: 'A Universe of change'

Everybody's mad and mixing it up as the Sinhindrea make their first definitive moves against Earth. Why is everything happening here? The answers coming up as the Klingons get together with _Babylon Five_ and everyone has to decide whether they will work together to survive. Meanwhile the Sinhindrea decide the best defense is a strong offense and Earth is number one on their list of things to do. And pray tell, who's fault is that?

Poor Earth Alliance.


	36. chapter 33 A Earthscream

_**Chapter 33**_

**_("The One Side of the Coin"; The Armageddon Conflict :) Part 9_**

**_EarthScream: Part A_**

Since entering the Earth alliance system and participating in the Earth-Drakh fight, the I.K.S. _Azetbur_ had hunted and tracked the dishonorable ones for the last three days through that unusual dimension called jumpspace. The ship's subspace sensors had a difficult time continually tracking the elusive vessels through the higher dimensional maelstrom. Yannsi and her Colonial counterparts were constantly refining the scanners in order to maintain a solid lock. Despite the seriousness of the situation and the deadliness of his intent, Captain Kagth, more-than-once, had to keep from laughing out loud at the numerous and colorful curses and phrase coming from both Yannsi and the Humans. The longer the chase, the more colorful the phrases became and after the second day, other members of the crew were quietly cataloging what was fast becoming a new art form. Kagth never suspected that Humans could curse as well as Klingons. But profanity or not, they were tracking their targets with a proficiency that made him swell with pride.

And movement in this higher-level dimensional space was fast. Twice the enemy ships had outrun his maximum warp speed, as they twisted and turned in an apparent effort to elude anyone who might be following them through jumpspace. It was fortunate they had been re-acquired by the sensor team. His ship's navigator had performed excellently and once more he silently congratulated the Klingon engineers who put the _Azetbur_ together. It had functioned superbly under the circumstances and evidently had placed as much concern in construction of this ship as they had in the weapons. That was a welcomed change since many of the newer ships, the _B'rels, Bird-of-Preys_, and the other classes coming out of dry-dock were made quickly-and too cheaply. They weren't worth the metal they built from.

Thinking about that made him angry. How was the Klingon Empire going to improve its defenses and its honor if everything was too cheaply made to be of good use? How many ships had they lost in the Dominion and Cylon wars due to bad construction? The answer was painfully obvious. Too many. It was dishonorable. The old _D7's_ had a better proportional survival rate than some of the new ships being constructed now. The newer ships couldn't take too many good hits. A single Federation quantum torpedo could cut a scout ship in half even with full shields.

There was a time when a scout ship could take two to three hits before the shields failed. But the manufacturers (the three Houses that monopolized the shipbuilding industry) had tried to convince the military of the honor that less shielding would generate. After all, they had said, it would allow the navigators and weapon's crews to become more creative. Well, they were they were correct in that assessment, however the high number of losses in the Dominion war simply convinced the population of Qo'noS to make the manufacturers reconsider their advertisement strategy. When the Cylon war started, the military was convince more than ever that new blood in the industry was required.

Kagth agreed with them particularly in comparison wth the Federation. They constantly developed newer and more powerful ships all of the time and they did it with finesse. Multi-role starships were considered folly for almost two hundred years by both the Klingon and Romulan Empires. All that had changed now. The Federation photon weapons were better-and the Klingons had developed them first. Their armor was better-Klingons developed armor first. And even more shame was that his people were out in deep space earlier than the Humans.

Yet, his people had fallen behind in just about every area technological expertise. His people were closing in on themselves instead of exploring like the Humans who started the Federation. Protected worlds were beginning to rebel because of Klingon incompetence and lack of honor in dealing with them. It was time for this self destructive behavior to change and that was the main reason why he accepted this mission, not out of the duty for the Klingon people, but for the people. Kagth had thought about this long and hard and he understood his decision to be the correct one.

His intention was simple. He, a Klingon intended to emulate one of the greats of the Federation of old. Kirk's exploits were legendary, even if he was remembered as the great antagonizer of the Klingon people. He was feared, hated, but also respected by the Klingon people because he thought first and then shot. That Human did not let his temper take over like so many of Kagth's people still did. And when he did lose his temper, everyone took notice of it, especially the Klingons who were usually responsible for the explosion in the first place. Yet, he didn't have that understandable desire to kill every Klingon he met after the murder of his son. What was it that caused him not to hate his enemies after such a treacherous, dishonorable blow?

He studied the history of the Human warrior for a long time and it took a while for him to understand Kirk's motives and actions. What he found out was that Kirk had a type of flexibility, an openness in his thinking that Kagth envied enough to want to emulate. That was why he tolerated, even encouraged the Human Colonials on his ship to do whatever. His own crew had been terrified of him when this mission started. Now they did things to please him and more importantly they took pleasure in making the ship run smoothly. It was partly duty but it was also pride of the ship and of one another. There had been very few fights on his ship and they talked to one another freely without fear of reprisal. They made continual, small improvements on the ship-after getting permission naturally-and the ship itself responded accordingly.

It took time, but even the lowest crewmember of them could appreciate the subtle change from both within and without. The ship's crew becoming almost family and family worked together better than simple motivation of duty. Federation ships had always had that indefinable something and the _Azetbur_ seemed to be developing it also. _Azetbur_ wasn't simply a ship anymore. It was them all; it was _her_. _Azetbur_ didn't just exist. It lived.

The crew took care of her and she would take care of them. It was all so simple really. That was the reason why Klingons stressed duty so much, he realized. It was their way of trying to create this-this connection.

The Colonials had helped also, in their own Human way. They fought, worked and played like his people. But they also knew how to relax. Klingons didn't relax. As a whole, either they worked or they were busy drinking. His Human portion of the crew had began teaching the his people how to relax and enjoy the moment. They bonded with the Klingons and after that astonishing revelation, his crew started to genuinely bond with the Humans. Most interesting. As a precaution the Captain decided to cut the blood wine rations somewhat. There were grumbles at first, but now things were better.

All of this would be in his journals and logs for future Klingons-if any-to evaluate. He casually wondered how they would interpret it when he wrote that he intended to learn from the actions of one of the great foes of their time. He grunted. Kagth didn't really care what they thought as long as they learned from his experiences.

**

* * *

**

Despite the long, evasive pattern used by the Drakh to throw off their potential pursuers, they hadn't really retreated that far from the Terran system. They were less than twelve light-years away, practically clubbing distance. It was too bad for them that one of their cruisers didn't have the intelligence to follow orders. Sensors now tracked that heavy cruiser heading directly for the assumed rendezvous point in normal space. Behind it was a damaged Human warship trying its best to close to combat distance. Scans of both ships indicated heavy causalities on both vessels with the EarthForce ship in worse shape.

He nodded grimly to himself. The Officers of the Human ship continued to harass the enemy in spite being outclassed and out-gunned. It traded long-distance fire with the larger Drakh cruiser, which had probably sustained damage in the earlier fight in the Sol system. The Klingon Captain surmised that that was the only thing allowing the Human warship to continually attack without being blown from the stars. The Drakh cruiser suddenly got in a lucky shot and the _Omega_ lost an engine. Several small probes were then launched and were now heading toward Earth _territory_, no doubt relaying its position and other data.

"The _Omega_ has stained significant damage. Shall we assist?" Yannsi asked.

"Not yet," he ordered. "They are safer here away from the coming battle. The enemy will have undoubtedly noticed the probes and will leave this area before Earth ships can reach the area. I want to follow the Drakh in. Status."

"We are cloaked. All weapons are active. Passive targeting has positive locks."

"Good," the Captain responded as he glared at tactical. There were a huge number of targets of all descriptions. "What is that thing?" he said as he pointed to not one, but two huge ships were rapidly growing closer.

"It's some sort of cargo or carrier vessel similar to the cruisers. Fourteen kilicams in length; thinly armored, light weapons only. Evidence of weapons fire on the closest carrier. Residual energy traces suggest it took Sinhindrea weapons fire."

Kagth thought furiously. These aliens had attacked Earth but had also been attacked by the Sinhindrea. Were they mercenaries? He wasn't sure. He had no information on these creatures other than the fact that they were partial phase shifters and made giant, oversized ships with adequate armor but no decent shielding.

"Captain."

"What is it Klyn'g?"

"There is a cruiser and several smaller attack ships headed for the Human ship. Weapons are active."

No doubt they were going to finish the Humans off. As for the Humans, they were aware of their tactical situation but couldn't run, so they decided to fight, launching small fighters and powering what was left of their weapons. Kagth could use them as a diversion while he moved closer to attack his prey, but that would be dishonorable. No, he would give the Drakh creatures something else to think about. They used bio-weapons, to him, the very height of dishonor, against a weaker foe. "One quarter impulse, attack pattern Praxis," he ordered. "Ready photon torpedoes. Full salvo on both cargo carriers. Lock rear photons on the ship attacking the Human vessel. Klyn'g-" Kagth resisted the urge to get up and pace. The Federation had better torpedoes but his people made them bigger.

"Sir-"

"Fire."

* * *

Missiles of the type used in the Earth system by the Federation ships appeared from nowhere to destroy both of their precious carrier vessels. Startled, the Drakh Lead-Admiral hesitated for a couple of seconds believing that the destruction had to be a freak accident or more likely so sort of sabotage. Another report…the cruiser and the raiders sent to destroy the Human vessel just exploded; hit by another set of those missiles. 

"Report," he yelled. '_Where were they'?_

"There is nothing there. Other than the EarthAlliance ship, our scans are not detecting any enemy ships in the area."

Two more cruisers were cracked like eggshells before blowing up, taking everything around with them in death. This time, the rapidly moving attacker was seen, just barely outlined as it fired more of those missiles. The Lead-Admiral almost choked out his orders to begin random firing of all weapons. He was as impressed as he was intimidated of the enemy's ability to remain hidden. The enemy ship was invisible to the naked eye and to Drakh scanners. Two more of his ships died.

-Then another.

To remain here was insanity. They had to escape. His fleet was being cut to pieces by an enemy he couldn't see.

His shadow masters had fled the region, but had given his people orders for one last attack against the planet Earth. They had followed orders but now they were effectively on their own. The accursed Sinhindrea had destroyed two of their massive sixty kilometer-long mother ships. And now there was only one left. It was time for his nomadic people to return to it and leave this area of space. _They' _were coming and not even his masters had been able to stop them. What was left of the Drakh people would flee to a distant part of the galaxy and become strong again as they waited for the Sinhindrea to come. He gave the order to evacuate.

A moment later, his ship died as two photon torpedoes vaporized engineering.

**

* * *

**

-Sixteen capital warships destroyed. Scores of unwary raiders, flashed burned.

Kagth allowed a small snort to escape while he looked at the last of the alien vessels fleeing into the safety of jumpspace. The new cloak worked perfectly. Almost a hundred years ago, General Chang had developed a cloaking system that allowed his Bird-of-Prey to fire while cloaked. Since then, the Romulans and Klingons had been in competition, trying to recreate that lost technology. The Klingons had done it and kept partial shields in the process. The Romulans may have succeeded as well; no one knew what was going on with them.

"Contact the Earth ship. Tell them we will render assistance until one of their vessels arrives. We will then head to _Babylon Five_."

* * *

**_Two days later:_**

**_Earth sector:_**

The Captain and crew of the Earth Alliance destroyer_ Armitage_,along with three other _Omegas_ had just got their butts handed to them by a single, unidentified alien warship. Three other destroyers had just been torn apart by weapons that were stronger than Minbari canon. And EA fire couldn't get through the energy shielding surrounding the alien craft.

"Send this message now," Captain Bouchet ordered. "Ultraviolet priority, all ships. Earthscream. Repeat Earthscream. All ships Sol sector." This was the second time that this order had been issued in less than a month.

His ship suffered minimal damage, the majority of it coming from shrapnel remains of another destroyer that wasn't so lucky. "Status?"

"Weapons are hot. The _Pashawar_ and _Cerbus_ acknowledge lock-on on lead ship."

"Fire everything we have at on the lead ship at this section of the ship."

"Firing."

Three _Omegas_ destroyers, with the combined power of eighteen heavy particle lasers and pulse canon hit the forward port shields of the lead Sinhindrea battleship. The ship was stopped in its tracks as the shields dissipated and refracted the enormous amount of energy arrayed against it. Seconds later the shield failed and directed energy slammed into the front of the ship. The enemy retaliated.

The _Pashawar_ disappeared in a flash of light. A Sinhindrea pulse weapon hit the ship and there was nothing left. Undeterred, the pulse continued and slammed into a distant asteroid.

Captain Bouchet had had enough. His and the remaining destroyer began a desperate fighting retreat. They needed numbers and friendlies were coming in piecemeal. If they were to have a chance to repel these aliens they needed to organize. Earth command was already on it. Behind the _Armitage_ and _Cerbus,_ coming up quickly were twenty warships and dozens of StarFuries. Four of the Sinhindrea craft moved as one and began long-distance bombardment against the rapidly approaching EarthForce ships.

* * *

**USS Voyager:**

The _Sovereign_, flanked by three combat class _Runabouts_, two Colonial _Cobras_, four Federation _Peregrines_ and two Shadow _Omegas_ with their compliment of Shadow-designed Star Furies broke Earth orbit and headed directly to the Mars belt. The Earth Alliance ships jumped directly into the battle against the small fleet. Their added firepower came as an unwelcome surprise to the damage Sinhindrea vessel which finally succumbed. But that victory came with a heavy price as EarthForce had already lost on half of its fighting force.

The Federation starship, now entering the fray was rocked by the combined firepower of two Clovien hunters. Regenerative metaphasic shielding dropped by thirty percent.

"They knew exactly where we would exit into normal space," said a surprised Paris. After a hit like that, he was more surprised that the ship was still functional. He began a series of complicated maneuvers even as Janeway struggled to speak

"Attack pattern Sigma," Janeway ordered. At Lieutenant Paris' touch, the ship began a complicated dance as the Hunters continued to target them. "Order the others to break off and support EarthForce. We'll deal with this. Mr. Tuvok, start with quantum torpedoes, full spread, your discretion. Ready phasers."

"Firing…

A dozen quantum torpedoes left _Voyager's_ tubes and exploded themselves on both Sinhindrea shields. The vessels broke formation as their shields faltered. Wary and a lot more respectful, the ships changed tactics. Seeking shelter among the asteroid belt, they dove in with _Voyager_ right behind them firing photon and quantum torpedoes.

**

* * *

**

The Human taste was confirmed once more. They were the same from the Home reality, similar but not like the Human creatures here who were tainted with Vorlon taste. Vorlon taste was very weak but present nevertheless. The Humans here were primitive, like most of the other races. The Shadows had been a threat but were unorganized in their attacks. The Humans here were pathetically weak but if they could manage to develop weaponry like the Home Humans, then the colony would be threatened. It was not established and it was cut off by the invisible, self replication mines and so far, none of their scientists could break the through. Mass detonations did nothing to lesson the number of mines surrounding the gate. The only hope was to find the Human vessel and strip the information from their minds.

That hadn't worked. None of the Humans had the specific code in their primitive minds. Instead they had the information in their archaic inorganic computers and they hadn't been able to acquire it. This frightened them and what the Sinhindrea were frightened of they destroyed. But this ship was hard to destroy, even harder than the other one of their kind. Two Clovien had been lost in that attack, proving that this species was too dangerous to be allowed to continue to exist.

In agreement, both ships turned and locked their tractor beams on the pursuing Human vessel. Then, they would sacrifice themselves to make sure that this vessel would never hurt the colony. They transmitted their intentions to the colony along with the recommendation that this entire system was scheduled for termination. The threat was too great and could not be tolerated.

* * *

The Earth Alliance destroyer _Titanus_ and two other destroyers were mixed up in a life and death struggle with four of the Sinhindrea assault ships each the size of a _Whitestar_. Three other destroyers had already succumbed to the incredible firepower of those ships. The _Titanus_ and its compliment of Star Furies took the brunt of the attack. Unlike many of the other Earth destroyers fighting for their lives, the _Titanus_ had been upgraded with Federation weapons. It was also outfitted with _B5_ type two and three Star Furies. That gave it a credible standoff and delivery system, and survivability had been increased significantly. Phased plasma beams hit the shields of one ship, destabilizing it while weapons from the _Evanston_ managed to destroy it. Star Furies, both the former resistance and loyalists were taking on two more of the squid-like gunboats and the identical-looking fighter squadrons and getting the worst of it. Averages of four standard Earth fighters to one Sinhindrea were being lost. Seven hits were required to burn through and disable one of the alien ships causing combat casualties to mount. 

Two of the smaller Sinhindrea warships blew through four Earth Alliance destroyers as if they weren't even there before they were attacked by Federation-Colonial fighters. Both offending vessels were cut apart by photon, quantum and disruptor fire. The fighters then turned towards one of the bulbous capital ships and its two escorts heading towards Mars despite all attempts by Earth forces to stop it.

* * *


	37. Chapter 33B Earthscream

_**Chapter 33**_

**_("The One Side of the Coin"; The Armageddon Conflict :) Part 9_**

**_EarthScream: Part B_**

Captain Bouchet tried his best to ignore the ravaged bridge of the _Armitage_. A fifth of his Command was dead and half of the systems were out. His wild-eyed Exec looked as if he wanted to abandon ship any second. It was a miracle that his ship was still intact after the slaughter he'd just witnessed. Twenty-three destroyers slugged it out with two of the alien 'Ballships' at point blank range. Nearly a hundred Star Furies swarmed the Sinhindrea support ships and fighters in a knife fight that he would not have believe if he hadn't been part of it.

Earth Alliance won the fight but the price paid was enormous. Only four heavily damaged destroyers and nine Star Furies had staggered away from the fighting. Half of the _Armitage's_ engines were junk and the _Evanston_- which should have been retired long ago- had had its rotating section sheared off. Her crew was abandoning it even now.

And there were still three of the enemy capitals left. Slowly the _Armitage_ and the other survivors proceeded to give chase. At the rate they were losing ships, Earth would be defenseless in less than an hour-again.

The Clovien Lord's two pairs of eyes glared at the evil alien ship trapped by the grappler rays. The power required to trap the sHp'kU (Humanstain) ship was draining his ships' power much too quickly. Those shields refused to be completely captured and its combat computer had to constantly readjust its frequency and modulation or else the ship would escape. When three of the escort ships had tried to disable the Humanstain, they were swatted from the stars by at least two kinds of powerful beam weapons.

The Clovien huntmate had been badly hurt by Human missile fire and had lost its shields, their power source unstable. There was no way it could assist without being destroyed. The enemy continued to fire their beam weapons at its ship with increasing ferocity before it could reach detonation point. In moments, its shields would collapse, and the sHp'kU would destroy its vessel, but there would still be time enough to perform its duty. The Sinhindrea ordered his Sub to decrease the distance between it and the sHp'kU it had sworn to kill.

* * *

"Captain-energy buildup on the enemy ship!"

"They're moving closer!'

"We've got to break the tractor beam!"

"We cannot, Sir," Data said tightly. His emotion chip was activated and the emotions played havoc on his face. "Their computer compensates as fast as I can re-modulate the shields."

Chakotay's lips tightened. He had wanted to save this little surprise for another time. "Ready transphasic torpedoes."

"We are too close. Our shields are being strained and may not protect us from the blast."

"There's no choice. Phasers and IMD fire won't punch through in time."

That last statement by Commander Worf as true. Sinhindrea shields were taking a vicious beating as they strained to maintain both defense and the structural integrity of its power source. Those shields were redlining and would fail within moments and the energy source would undergo cataclysmic destabilization, but not before the self-destruct sequence completed itself.

"Sir, We're using every bit of energy we have to keep the shields and the weapons up."

"Transphasic torpedoes are ready," Worf swiftly answered. Today wasn't a good day to die, but it seemed that they would have little choice in the matter.

"Fire on my mark."

A jumpoint appeared from behind the Sinhindrea vessel and three _Omegas_ exited, firing all weapons at the already weakened shields. The tractor beam was cut off and _Voyager_ was backing away at extreme speed, its shields knocking boulders and small asteroids out of the way.

"Tell those ships to back off!" Chakotay yelled. "Quantum torpedoes full spread-fire."

The EA vessels were vectoring away now at extreme speed. They'd experienced Federation firepower unleashed and didn't want to be anywhere near when the blast struck. The torpedoes combined with the Sinhindrea already destabilizing Sinhindrea power node blew a hole in the Mars belt that would be seen by Earth's telescopes.

_Voyager_ exploded from the belt and locked onto the damaged Clovien. It was fleeing directly towards the three vessels that had assisted the Federation ship and their firepower was chewing up the front of the unprotected ship. Viciously, it returned fire, using its plasma pulse and killed one of the _Omegas, _which simply disappeared. It was then vaporized as the two survivors fired their nuclear missiles, even while _Voyagers'_ photon torpedoes struck from behind…

* * *

Fifteen EA alliance destroyers faced down the last remaining Sinhindrea warship capital ships. Two had managed to survived the confrontation. The Sinhindrea escorts had been destroyed, but their firepower decimated every ship it encountered, allowing the warship to break through. By now the two _Cobras_ and remaining _Peregrines_ had entered the fray and had let loose with a combined salvo of photon torpedoes, knocking the ship off of its trajectory. The _Titanus_ star Furies were vectoring in for a massive strike with their own photonic missiles. The ships core was going critical fast now and the allies rushed in for the final kill. The Sinhindrea unleashed psychic scream before they extracted their final revenge, thereby completing at least part of their mission. Photonic missiles and one transphasic torpedo disemboweled the ship two seconds after it fired an immense energy bolt directly towards Mars. The pulse easily penetrated the thin atmosphere, hit the surface of the planet and proceeded to quickly spread across the surface, killing and destroying everything it touched. Domed-cities and people everywhere ceased to exist as the wave cascaded across two-thirds of the world.

* * *

**_Babylon Five_**:

As Picard went through the last of the damage reports he felt dismayed and exhausted. Although repairs to the _Enterprise_ were continuing, the damage to her was considerable. And it was times such as this that he remembered that '_she'_ was little more than a piece of floating machinery serving only to keep outside space from getting in. The port nacelle was seriously damaged and it would take at least another week to get it up and running. The good thing was that Lieutenant Commander Riker's crew was more than willing to help with the repairs. The weapons and shields were back up, but warp drive was down. _Enterprise_ was an easy target if the Drakh or the Sinhindrea decided to visit. He really didn't want to depend on others to help him, while his ship lay helpless, unable to maneuver. The _Ambassador _and_ Yeager _were good ships, but they weren't the _Enterprise_ and every ship would be needed if they were to be attacked by the Sinhindrea._ Babylon Five _and its support ships wouldn't be able to handle these creatures, if they came. Even with the _Enterprise_ up to full specs it might be a moot point.

* * *

_USS _Enterprise_ personal log- combat date three seven two seven point four:_ _I have not been overly enthused with Garrett's little stunt with the Minbari, however I do understand why she did it. There were certain technologies and capabilities that all three Captains had strived to make sure that the Minbari were to remain ignorant about. That species is as touchy as Klingons and dealing with them had been a minefield of diplomacy. While it is true that Ambassador Delenn and several of the others of the Religious, Worker and even some of the Warrior castes have established good relations with us; there were many members of the warrior caste that displayed open contempt, hostility and naked fear of the fact that 'Human based' technology could surpass theirs. The ultimate consequences of the duel between _Ambassador_ and '_Blood of Saints'_ would not be known for a while. Captain Sheridan's reports noted that the Minbari onboard _Babylon Five_ had been remarkably subdued. Whether this would lead to better relations with them or some sort of political explosion, no one was yet sure of. True humility was not one of their strengths, especially when it comes to interacting with Humanity._

_Captain Garret is not making the situation any better. She is actively gloating, making __Alyt Rannaonn follow her around like some trained animal. So far, he was cooperating; but the look in his eyes is filled murderous intent. I have no doubt that if he had his way Earth would be in the middle of a Human-Fed-Minbari war at this very second. But the Minbari is bound by his promise-enforced by the Minbari ruling council and the other members of his own caste-to honor the agreement. As for my part, I have said very little but Rannaonn understands that I would not hesitate to kill him in an instant if it appeared that Garret was in danger from him in any way. However, __I__ will admit that she has a somewhat better understanding when it comes to social interaction, so I have not intervened. We shall see how this plays out.

* * *

_

Picard solemnly ignored Commander Riker as he entered _Enterprise's_ bridge, looking more sullen than usual, no doubt thinking about his counterpart Thomas. William had taken a dislike to Thomas almost immediately and it hadn't helped that Thomas had just smiled, expecting just such a reaction. It was interesting to see the differences between the two men. Lieutenant Commander Thomas Riker was older than William, a vulgarity of temporal mechanics, and a bit more hardened. That was understandable. Being a prisoner of Cardassia either killed you or hardened you. But he seemed less uptight than William. And he wasn't officially Starfleet, but on loan to some government called the Colonials. Admiral Janeway, scheduled to come to _B5_ in two days, would explain those details later.

Captain Sisko and Lieutenant Commander Riker were now conferring together on the differences between the _Yeager_ and _Rantoul_. Armament on Riker's _Saber_ was significantly more powerful than had been expected and Sisko was eagerly gathering technological data and stockpiling equipment. And this brought another problem to the fore. It was rapidly becoming apparent that they would need a central base of operations, something that he had been adverse to. He fought against it because it meant that he was giving up his hope of returning home, despite what Sisko had said. There had to be a way.

The entity Q had told him that it was possible although the price would be high. That would mean abandoning this universe to the Sinhindrea. They would be alone with only their resources available to combat these creatures. He however had a responsibility to get his crew home. They could use the same route that _Voyager_ had used to get here. Janeway however had not been so positive that he and the others would be '_allowed'_ to return. But he had the responsibility to at least try, didn't he? However if they made it back would it be their universe of would he and his crew be shadows of the 'others'?

He would decide soon.

Decisions. That was the problem.

His stubbornness had cost them time. They could have built a structure to house their ships. He refused. They could have started making a home here for themselves, but he had insisted that they were only temporary guests. _Voyager_ was here now but could any of them get back? Would the famously stubborn Jean-Luc Picard make the correct decision for himself and his crew? Sisko and Garret would fight him if he didn't make the correct decision and technically Garret was the Senior Captain. If he insisted on going back despite the advice given him, how would the others react?

"Sir!" Tasha screamed, breaking him out of his self –absorbed contemplations. His Tactical Officer had initiated red-alert. "A Klingon warship has just de-cloaked one point five kilometers off our starboard bow,. Configuration unknown!"

"Shields to full! Ready phasers!" Picard yelled. His heart nearly stopped beating for a moment. A Klingon vessel here, right on top of them! "Arm photon torpedoes and warn the _Ambassador_ and _Babylon Five_! Are they preparing to fire yet?""

"Negative, Sir," she answered. "They seem to be ignoring us for the moment. They're talking to _K'mpec's Honor_ It's the biggest Klingon ship I've every seen! Their shields completely are blocking our scans, Sir. But their weapons are not targeting us yet."

Picard and the crew looked on at this unexpected and very unwelcome sight. This Klingon battleship made the _K'vort_ cruiser look miniscule in comparison. It was ten meters longer than _Enterprise_ with forward swept nacelles. The front end was tapered and the classic neck was twice as short, but four times thicker as compared to any other Klingon vessel he had ever seen.

"Sir, two Minbari warships have closed ranks with us. Several of the Earth Alliance ships and one _Whitestar_ have done the same."

* * *

Captain Kagth was half amused at the response of the _Enterprise_ and the other ships that had swarmed to protect the damage _Galaxy_. He was surprised that it was the _Enterprise_. Janeway hadn't mentioned that other Federation or Klingon ships would be here.

The _K'vort_ was in bad condition. Its disruptors are underpowered, the cloak leaked and it was equipped with old-style photon torpedoes and the warp core configuration was older than he was. Where did they come from and where did the _Enterprise_ come from? The _Galaxy_ had been destroyed by Picard himself, many years ago-yet here it was. Different universes.-oh, how he hated temporal physics.

Captain Koral face was plastered on the screen, filled with every emotion a Klingon could express. Elation, surprise, confusion, defiance, concern, and a healthy dose of fear crossed the young Klingon's face in an instant. But it was the person behind him that caught Kagth's attention. It was a younger version of Ambassador-Commander Worf looking wild-eyed and defiant. That was another pleasant surprise that he look forward to experiencing when both Worfs came together.

"Identify yourself," Koral growled in his best command voice. "Do not attack the Federation ship or we will destroy you!"

Kagth's response was to sneer and was promptly rewarded with a glimmer of fear emanating from the Captain. "Kagth," he growled back. "My ship is the Imperial Klingon Battleship _Azetbur_. Identify your ship-now."

"Imperial Klingon ship _K'mpec's Honor_."

"Kagth was surprised and he quickly had his First Officer check the records. "It was _K'mpec's Honor_, two ship generations past. It was one of the earlier _K'vort_ class designs under the command of Captain L'ukrUal."

"Where is Captain L'ukrUal?" Kagth demanded.

Again Kagth noted Koral's surprised. "Dead. Killed during the transit here."

"Who is your Second-in-Command?"

"He is Worf, son of Morg, son of Worf."

'_So it was him_.' Looking at the sweating Captain: "I am not here to start a war, Koral. The Federation and the Klingon Empire are allies," he said. The look of absolute surprise on the young Klingon's face surprised him.

"We are?"

'_Just who were these Klingons?'_ "We were unaware of your presence here. We will talk later. There is much you need to know." He nodded lightly and cut communications.

"Captain, the Federation ships are targeting us with all weapons," Klyn'g announced. "Type nine phasers and photon torpedoes."

The captain nodded tersely. "Hail the _Enterprise_ before they start shooting."

"They are responding."

* * *

On the viewscreen, Kagth came face to face with a very determined, very grim-faced Captain Picard-a younger version of the one he knew. Amazing. The bridge was subtly different from the _Galaxy_-class configuration he was familiar with. It was darker, more combat oriented. The crew were armed and dangerous looking. He approved.

"This is the Federation Battleship _Enterprise_. You are outnumbered. Surrender now or we will destroy your ship," the Captain growled angrily.

Kagth had no doubt that he would try. He glared back at the Human. The hostility shown by this Picard was certainly different than what he was expecting.

"Picard, calm yourself." To Picard's credit, his face never cracked, neither had Kagth; but inside he was roaring with laughter. The irony of a Klingon saying that to the Arbiter of Succession was priceless. "We are not at war with the Federation. I would speak to you."

Picard was not pleased. His blood enemy was facing him, daring to tell him to _'calm_ _down'_ in front of his crew. Lieutenant Yar was unable to even scan the ship properly. Their shields were too far strong and there was no way that the _Enterprise_ could shoot its way through before they destroyed his ship. But he wanted to talk instead of fight. "What do you want, Klingon?"

The Klingon tilted his head slightly before he spoke. "I'm Captain Kagth. As I said, I would speak to you and your crew."

"If you attempt to attack us-"

"Picard!" the Klingon screamed. He was furious now. "I am trying to be polite! If I choose to destroy you, your puny ship will not be able to stop me." The Klingon, with much effort began to calm down once more. "Stop acting Human," he growled. "We will meet on _Babylon Five_. There is much you need to know." Then he cut the comms.

For a long moment Captain Picard stood there, looking at the blank screen in front of him. Then he sighed. "I believe Captain Kagth wants to talk, Number One."

"There's nothing worse than a Klingon who wants to talk," Riker answered. More Klingons. He didn't like this one bit.

"Yes, Number One," Picard responded. "I quite agree."

* * *

**BABC'nC War room:**

While Captain Susan Hiroshi nearly swooned with relief and stood down from alert status, Sheridan and was pacing the war room desperate for information. Less than a half an hour earlier, they'd received the ultraviolet priority; this coming on top of the local problems.

-Earthscream.

-Twice in less than a month.

The solar system was being invaded, but the question was by who? Was it the Drakh again? That was believed to be the most likely scenario until they could contact Earth Alliance. EA military channels were swamped and from what they could tell, it wasn't the Drakh. ISN was broadcasting but details were sketchy. What was known was that a dreadful fight going on in Earth's solar system and everyone was involved including the Feds; but few more details were forthcoming. Finally, an official message came through. It was General Brindley.

"…_to all EA alliance vessels. This is an Ultraviolet priority message. The Sol system has been attacked. There has been an incident independent Mars settlement. All Earth Alliance and military combat units are now at ultraviolet alert. All free colonies and _Babylon Five_ should upgrade alert status to Ultraviolet. Earth is still under total quarantine and no vessels are allowed to enter or leave Earthspace. The…" _

Sheridan's comlink signaled for his attention.

"Captain," Sandra said. "We have an incoming call from EarthDome. It's the EA liaison, Colonel Griffin."

"Patch him through."

"Acknowledged."

A haggard –looking Griffin saluted. "Sheridan, no doubt you've heard what's going on," and waited as Sheridan nodded for him to go on. "ISN is only reporting part of it. Most of our military warships have been destroyed or heavily damaged by the same race that attacked the Centauri and the Shadows. They have shields Captain, just like the Federation and the Abbai. Their ships are organic based and very powerful. A half dozen capital and support ships took on everything that we could throw at them. But two of them were specifically targeting _Voyager_. They survived and with their help, we destroyed the enemy, but what's now left of our forces couldn't defend against a paper bag. We have less than fully thirty functional ships within ten light-years distance; therefore Earth is now essential defenseless.

"But there's another situation. We destroyed the last attack ship but not before it fired some sort of weapon at Mars. Our scientists agree that it was some sort of plasma-based weapon of a kind we've never seen before. Admiral Janeway believes that it has an anti-proton base. Whatever the weapon was, it cut across the nuclear bonds of anything it touched. Mountains, cities, people; it didn't matter. It ceased to exist. The energy wave cascaded over three quarters of the planet. The death toll is staggering."

The war room was completely silent. For a moment, it seemed as if Susan would have allowed herself a single tear. Garibaldi had kicked a table leg. And there were sound of sniffling and muted crying. Delenn's distress was obvious.

Griffin continued slowly. "This weapon the aliens used was not the same type as used against the Centauri home world. We believe that it was a specific planetary class weapon designed to exterminate land-based populations. If that had struck Earth…"

"We will do whatever we can to help," Sheridan promised. "I'm going to call an emergency meeting of the council as soon we're finished."

"Captain," Griffin warned. "EarthDome is in shambles, the military has been decimated, Earth has been poisoned and Mars… Anti-alien sentiment will be at an all time high. We will try to downplay it as much as possible- however…."

He was right. This was shaping up to be a nightmare. And Sheridan wondered if they would have any chance at all of defusing this:

"My God," he whispered. "What as mess."

* * *

**A quotation from 'The Conversation' 3-2004 on fanfiction net.**

Q: "These aliens (the Sinhindrea) have a foothold now and are establishing the base on a planet called Z'ha'dum. They will spread out and destroy everything in their paths unless the space-faring races living there can unite and fight as a single entity." His smiled. It was cold and sarcastic. "I've seen them and I don't think it's going to happen. But leave it to Picard and a human male called John Sheridan and his love, Delenn of the Minbari to try. They are going to need help just to survive the first onslaught before the others understand that everyone's lives are in the balance. This means that Picard, Sisko and Garrett are going to have to toss your beloved Prime Directive to the winds. And you may have to help them."

Captain Janeway: "Do you know what you're asking?"

"Yes," answered Q. "I am asking you to help a galaxy survive by knowingly throwing your precious Prime Directive of non-interference. If you choose not to then you will doom them all and doom yourself to everlasting memories of what you could have done to help save them but didn't."

"Q, this isn't fair. There are solid reasons for the Prime Directive and even if I wanted to, I would be violating everything that I have sworn to protect."

"You've done it before," he said smugly.

_The question is will she do it now?

* * *

_

Next:

The Earthlings, the Federation (both sides), the Minbari, the Narn, the Klingons, the Centauri, the Vorlons, the Shadows, Lorien, and all the rest, have a long talk at _Babylon Five_. Everyone has their own agenda. The question is will they be able to work together to deal with the increasing threat of the Sinhindrea?

Hint: what does Q think?


	38. Chapter 34 Eighteen Hours

**_Chapter Thirty-four- The Armageddon conflict-Part 10_**

It has been said that one's own personal bed can be-at times-the most inviting, most enticing thing that a man can experience. It may be rumpled, or even covered with articles that shouldn't have been thrown on it in the first place in that early rush to get up; _but, who cares?_ All of these things flashed across Captain John Sheridan's mind- for all of a millisecond. He could have cared less about the existential complexities of it all because he mind was exhausted. His brain hurt and right now his bed looked beautiful and called to him like Delenn on that night when…

Wow, he really was tired if he couldn't fully remember _that _night.

Eighteen hours.

That's how long it took.

Eighteen hours filled with arguments, deals, diplomacy, pleading, agreements, insults and a healthy number of threats could burn a man out. If anyone had even hinted that there could be days like this in his life, he would have never accepted this posting. The complexities here were almost too much for a man to handle. But handled it he did, because he was not alone not by any means.

There had been a quick debate raging between his mind and body as to whether he would take his cloths off or not, before he crashed into his bed. His jacket missed the chair next to his bed but he didn't care. Somehow, he got out of his pants before he fell into unconsciousness. The socks remained where they were. A few moments later he began to dream as his mind began its own journey towards relaxation, trying to sort out the day's events. Visions of Shadows, Vorlons, Sinhindrea, Starships and a burning Mars danced within them. And there was a small voice there, an alien one, a familiar one like his father's…

"Sleep well, young one," Kosh whispered in the dark. And Captain John Sheridan dreamed-

-And remembered.

-x-

It had been a day of unparalleled surprises, a day of history that would not be repeated for a thousand, thousand years. It would be remembered with joy and with mourning. It would encompass all that was best in the universe and all that was foul and evil. It had been a day when the Vorlons returned to fight the ancient evil; and the Shadows were left to determine if they would help or hinder the great fight.

It was a day when Earth said _'Enough_' and actually meant it.

It had been a day when the Minbari would take the first uneasy steps towards a true maturity, taking their rightful place as the head of a new order while their friends stood besides them. It had been a day when the Centauri would dare to throw caution to the four winds and join in the quest knowing that the Narn and the others could very well extract a terrible vengeance upon them. It had been a day of sorrow and of truth, a day when time would no longer be measured in thousands of years, but as the here and now. It had been a day when love was discovered, forsaken and renewed. It was a day when the First Ones discovered that they were mistaken, and that they were right, but that none of it mattered because they had forgotten the way. It was a day when the universe demanded that the allies come together or face obliteration together. In short it was eighteen hours in which everyone boldly stepped into the unknown with no assurance that anyone would ever be the same again.

-x-

_**"Eighteen Hours"**_

_**The first hour**:_

It was a given that any day shift on _Babylon Five_ was always hectic. There were exceptions to the rule like the occasional war on the front doorstep, but as a whole, one could count on the fact that there was a certain consistency to the operations of the huge space station. It was designed to be a place where people could come together to discuss their difference and maybe come to agreements that did not include knockdown, drag-out fights by diplomats in the Zocalo. No one fully understood it but as of today, that mission had shifted from one of promoting peace, to one of preparing for war.

Captain John Sheridan had been as stunned as every one else by the loss of all of the domed cities on Mars. The numbers of lives casually snuffed out crossed the borders of obscenity; and coming on the heels of a poisoned Earth had been almost too much for most of Humans to handle. There had been several fights between the Humans and Aliens started by Humans needing to lash out at something. Very quickly, the situation grew very tense and Sheridan had to give a pep talk-the second major one after the civil war fight-to the entire population of _Babylon Five _to calm the people down. Earthers were losing hope and that was the last thing Sheridan and the rest needed on this station.

"As you know," he had said, "the Mars colonies have been loss to an alien attack. There have been a few survivors found in some of the deeper caverns but-" There was a short pause as he allowed that to sink through. There was nothing else to be said. The names of those survivors were being broadcast on a separate channel. "What you don't know is that these attacks were not perpetrated those who first attacked Earth."

"Earth Alliance, the Centauri, the Minbari, the Federation; all of us, have been attacked by a common enemy whose only purpose is to exterminate all forms of life that it comes in contact with. There is no reasoning with them. There is no discussion with them. They will continue on their paths of destruction unless we stop them here and now. The different governments will meet in a few hours to discuss the situation and we will remain in session until we come up with a plan. We are all in this together and together we will find a solution to the problem that faces us all. Meanwhile these are those who are striving to develop a cure for the plague that has threatened Earth and I can tell you progress has been made. We don't have a cure yet but we are getting closer to one much faster than we anticipated. Governments from all over the sectors have offered to help."

He said a few more things about the Mars incident and closed the comms. Some of the things said he actually believed. Yes, they were coming close to a cure but there was no guarantee that the pathogen or rather, patho-nanites wouldn't mutate/reconfigure again. And the truth was that he had no idea how the different governments were going to respond to what was perhaps the greatest threat they'd ever faced in a thousand years. But everyone didn't need to know the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Truth did far more than just hurt; it cut safe, perceived reality into little, useless pieces.

Everyone was antsy and the levels of distrust had increased, especially among the Humans on the station. So many things had happened to the system recently that he had to wonder as well. It seemed as if the universe was out to get them. He knew those thoughts were simply situational paranoia, but he couldn't fully shake them either. On top of this, his ex-wife was also acting strange.

-She was speaking to him.

Since he had declared his love for Delenn but had refused to allow Anne to accompany the Shadows to wherever they were going, she'd been unresponsive to any of his peace overtures. Now, in the last few hours something had changed and she'd insisted on seeing him. John hadn't had the time-when did he ever- but Anne was ever the persistent one and he acquiesced. As per usual, he didn't feel very comfortable in her presence because she wasn't 'her'. This Anne was a copy of someone that he once knew, a stranger with his wife's face, body, voice, mannerisms, that little smile... And that still hurt because he knew it was and wasn't her. But thankfully, one of the few things that kept his sanity intact was the presence and comfort of Delenn, an alien he knew to be his great love.

Of course, neither woman liked one another. Delenn felt sorry for her but feared her because she was touched with Shadow darkness and had once been John's beloved wife. Anne hated Delenn because she had interfered with the plans prepared for her husband she no long knew or cared about. Delenn was touched by Vorlon stain and Anne wanted nothing to do with them. She cared nothing for John because she didn't know him anymore. Everything that he was was foreign to her. Her love for him had been burned out of her brain by a dark servant, an organic machine, who twisted her brain into a mockery on herself.

The Anne he knew soul was gone, but she was not a lost soul. Someone had taken pity on her. And although she didn't know it yet that one person had become a lifeline that kept her from going over the edge of The Pit.

That person was Ambassador Guinan.

Sheridan remembered the look on Anne's face when Guinan began nagging her about the Shadows. He almost gagged when the Ambassador asked his ex 'what did she want' and 'what did she think she should have'? Despite herself she answered, first haughtily then with increasing openness. Anne, being touched by Shadows was completely alone on _Babylon Five_. Most people who knew her were wary in her presence and others who didn't were afraid when she came near. Guinan was the only one who really talked to her and slowly the woman whom Anne first hated became somewhat of a friend. But her hatred for John's rejection of her former master's demands remained undiminished. She hadn't spoken to him since the Shadows had fled.

Now she wanted to talk to him and he was curious despite himself.

"Hello, John."

"Hello, Anne," he responded. "What can I do for you?"

"So cold," she answered, delighted at watching him squirm under her scrutiny. "But I understand. I really do. I am sorry you didn't accept my-proposition. The three of us could have been, if not happy, very amused with each other. Human and Minbari, Shadow and Vorlon; you could have had the best of both worlds," whispered this stranger, his ex-wife. "You don't know what you're missing."

"Anne," he hissed. He did not need to hear this.

"I'm sorry," she said with as much innocence as she could muster. "I just want you to know that I forgive you-and also that the Shadows are coming."

"What?" He didn't doubt her for a second. With the defeat of the Drakh, the Shadows would want revenge of some sort. He was half expecting them o come back and attack Earth or _B5_. "What are they planning? Why are they coming?"

"I don't know, my dear. But I can feel them; they're close. No," she corrected after a moment's contemplation. "They're here."

_**The second hour**:_

Commander Ivanova's frantic calls confirmed the things his wife had said to him mere seconds earlier. Susan's voice was tight as she placed the _Babylon_ station on full combat alert.

"Talk to me," he demanded.

"We have at least forty-five to fifty Shadow battlecrabs hanging one hundred thousand kilometers off of our port bow. Our shields are up and weapons-all of them- are active and hot. We're launching everything we have. The Minbari, the Narn, EarthForce and everyone else are on full alert. Both Klingon ships have cloaked but I know they're not going anywhere. Our _Whitestars_ are signaling readiness. The Federation group has launched their runabouts and is actively scanning everything."

"I'll be there in two minutes."

"Sir," she added. "_Voyager_ has signaled that they're leaving Earth orbit and will be here in seven minutes!" The awe emanating from her voice was palpable.

"What?" Hearing that, he almost tripped and fell into the elevator. "Confirm that!"

"I did," she rasped. "They're using something called QSD. The Captain said that they were using it in 'slow mode' to keep from overshooting the system."

Sheridan shook his head in wonder; surprised that anything could even astonish him anymore. "How many warships will that give us?"

"Forty-three."

"If they attack us…we are so screwed. Susan, open communications. See if they want to talk before someone does something that we will all regret.

A few moments later: "They want to talk! They're sending over an envoy."

Sheridan released the breath he was holding. If they wanted to talk, then maybe this wouldn't degenerate into a shooting match. "Clear Conference Room one for our guests."

"Yes, Sir. Permission to shuttle to _Whitestar Two_."

"Negative," John told her. "I need you here."

"Sir," she started to protest.

"Negative. That's an order. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Sorry, Susan. I need you here."

Ambassador Delenn and her fellow members of the Grey Council stood transfixed by the terror that were the Shadows. There were so many of the battlecrabs that surrounding space seemed to continually ripple with collective malevolence. The huge kilometer's long vessels floating serenely towards them represented the culmination of every fear their people had harbored for the past thousand years.

Neroon gave voice to what the entire council was thinking. "Do we stay or do we leave? A battle with them now serves no purpose and we don't have the resources to win."

As he spoke, another one of the Shadow vessels moved closer to the still damaged _Enterprise_. She was, in turn flanked by the two smaller _Sabers_ and the _Ambassador_.

Unknown to the Minbari, this was the same vessel that had faced the _Enterprise_ at the previous meeting at _Babylon Five_. Whoever the crew was on the shadow vessel, they didn't like the Federation ship. _Enterprise_ was responsible for the near destruction of one of their sister ships and had caused that sister ship to flee from a member of the younger races!

Bad blood existed between the Federation and Shadows. The Shadows didn't like being defeated by younger races and the Federation ships were considered designated enemies. They had no idea where they came from and that unknown factor was the only thing that had kept them from waging an all out war with the young upstarts. Scouts had failed to find this young race's organization or their enemies, but they had to come from somewhere within forty thousand light-years. Another ship had arrived; a small one facing them with shielding that was different and more powerful, than the others. This confirmed the suspicion that they were somewhere relatively nearby, but far enough not to have interacted with the known races. Like the Vorlons, the Shadows had traveled much of the galaxy-but not all of it. And the leadership suspected other First One involvement in isolating and protecting these young ones until they could stand on their own and directly threaten its races plans. Some unknown First One was obviously playing with them and they didn't like it one bit.

With those plans and contingencies all but destroyed by Federation interference, the Shadows had spent quite a bit of time trying to analyze and circumvent those defensive shields. Now something new had been added to those inferno ships. The new small vessel had just deployed some type of armor across its entire length. It was small, formidable and would require a battlecrab to deal with it.

The younger races were learning the technology far too quickly and if the Sinhindrea were defeated, the Shadows would have a much harder time re-establishing the rules. This was completely unacceptable.

-x-

That unacceptability was something that the Grey Council found surprising-and disconcerting also.

"Neroon, will we leave them to their fate and run like cowards?" Delenn asked of him.

"The universe is tearing itself apart. We thought the Shadows had left, but now they are back. The Sinhindrea cloud is covering every star it touches with death and despair. Our entire fleet is mobilizing for the defense of our protectorate worlds. There is no dishonor in leaving now and return to our people to prepare them for the war that is surely coming."

Satai Delenn chose not to respond for several minutes. And none of the Grey council dared to speak to her as she prepared her reply. Finally she spoke and her voice rumbled like thunder. "We call ourselves elders among the younger races. We stood side by side with the Vorlons a thousand years ago as we fought against the Shadows and their minions. Entire worlds, entire races disappeared in that war, but we survived while countless others died and here we stand now knowing that everything we know will die in fire. We, the Minbari cower in fear, unable to make a stand against the coming dark. But we pretend that we need to leave because our people need us. Yes, they need us. But the Minbari people will die alone, isolated by our fear. Members of the Grey council; take a look at us and see what a thousand years of isolation has done to us. Our ships take the shape of organics because we know that we are destined to take our place among the First ones. But is that a truth, or is it what we only hope for? The Minbari Federation extends to dozens of stars. We protect the races under our care but we never think about them as anything but second-class citizens, a part of our Federation but not truly part of us. Why? Have the other races even seen those under our protection? We know it within our hearts that we do not respect them as we should."

"We understand the threat of the Yonji Sinhindrea," Delenn continued. "We were there at Z'ha'dum to witness the plague firsthand. We fought them. We witnessed the fight on the _Ambassador _and the savagery of the creature's attack. We felt the creature's hatred as it tried to telepathically influence us. We understand the threat. What we do not understand is that we are alone. The Vorlons have been defeated and they have left us on our own. That has terrified us all." She stared at each council member carefully, trying to peer into his and her minds. "If Dukhat was here, he would have run to join this battle with everything he had because he knew something that you've never known and I've but recently discovered."

We are alone," she announced to the council. "We don't know how to create communities. Communities have strength that surpasses the fortresses of isolation. The Humans understand this."

One of the council, a member of the worker caste snorted loudly. "The Humans seem to be disappearing in alarming numbers, Delenn. The universe may have decided to remove them, something we perhaps failed to do during the war." There were murmurs of agreement heard from several other members.

"If they all die, that will not change the fundamental truth that they have discovered," she countered. "By themselves, they are rather weak as compared to many of the other races. But the Humans in the Federation have created large, powerful communities of their own and we see the same thing beginning to happen at _Babylon Five_. As I have said once before when I addressed this council, which of us would have conceived of such a place and then allowed other races to interact with them? We would not have done so. The Narn and the Centauri? Never. The Drazi? Any member of the Non-Aligned league of worlds? Could we have done it?"

Delenn allowed the silence to reign for several moments before she continued to hamper in her argument. "I believe that if any one survives these times it is because we will emulate them."

"The others can take care of themselves, Delenn. Our first priority is to our people."

"Neroon, have we learned nothing?" The tone in her voice clearly betrayed her disappointment with him. He couldn't help but wince under her scrutiny.

Embarrassed, he retaliated. "Your thoughts are colored by your infatuation with the Starkiller." The warrior smiled as Delenn bristled at the implied insult. He expected a retort but it never materialized. Instead she was riveted by another scene and the expected response died stillborn as the holographic viewer focused on an incoming vessel. Another ship had just arrived, unmistakably Federation in design flashed into _B5_ space, immediately taking its place near the _Enterprise_. This was completely unacceptable. He knew about this vessel but seeing it was intimidating his psyche. He couldn't help himself as the words came bursting forth despite his protests. "Another one, Delenn," Neroon announced loudly. "How many more will come here?"

"They're not the enemy," retorted Delenn. "You know this."

"Yes," he admitted. He frowned slightly as he studied the frightening readings gleaned from the new starship. "But they represent a change in the order of things." The Minbari warrior straightened, but slumped seconds later as if a huge weight were crushing him. The defeat of _Blood of Saints_ while an auspicious turn of events had disheartened the entire council. A race younger than they who possessed so much power and handling it with responsibility had sobered many and caused others to question their purpose in the universe. "I find myself being uncomfortable with the direction we are being force into traveling."

"You fear change," Delenn answered. "We all do. We have known who we were for a thousand years. And now nothing is the same anymore. No us, not the Humans, not the Vorlons nor the Shadows. We have waited for the war to come and now that it is here, it is not what we expected. Our people have waited for so long, we've become stagnant in our hearts as well as our bodies. The life-spirit of our people is bleeding away and all we can think of is to wait."

Their conversation was cut short by the appearance of a shadow vessel, a shuttle heading towards _Babylon Five_. A moment later, they received a request for Delenn to join in a meeting with the Shadows. She gulped and marched unflinchingly to her shuttle. "The universe has blinked Neroon," she told him uneasily. "Shall we find out why?"

For an instant he looked at her in cold fear. Smarting at her implied insult he relied, "why not?"

Together they both headed towards the shuttle while the others looked on in awe.

Before she entered the shuttle she turned and faced Neroon. The look on her face switched from revelation to dread.

"What is it, Delenn?"

"You know the truth about our people," she whispered. "I had a frightening thought. What if our vitality came from Valen?"

The Minbari warrior nearly choked. "Are you insane?" he hissed. "Do you understand what you are saying?"

"Minbari and Human," she whispered back.

"What are our people willing to do to survive? Our birthrate is dwindling. Each generation is less than the previous. What if our gene pool requires this?"

"If it is true…our people will never accept this!" Neroon looked completely horrified and the long ago forgotten conversation with Captain Garrett returned to slap him in the face. "If it s true, then what will our children be?" He trembled.

"What we make of them," She answered as they entered the shuttle. "If it is true, what will we chose, change or extinction?"

Neroon shook his head ruefully. "Now I know why Dukhat chose you. You are a terror in your own right, Satai. Come. Let us bravely look into the heart of darkness as befitting Minbari.

-x-

Three other crews were also looking at the new arrival in wonder and enormous pride as the vessel came into visual range. _Voyager_ was a class that they'd never seen and everyone on the bridge had stood a bit taller at the vision of predatory fierceness that colored every line on her. Picard was quietly surprised at the sight. Images did not do it justice. But he was even more shocked at the speed that the Federation ship had made the journey from Earth to _Babylon Five_. To cover that much space in less than ten minutes boggled the mind. They were either using a perfected form of transwarp or something else other than warp. He didn't know what QSD was specifically but for now, he was glad to have her here.

However, it appeared that the Shadows weren't amused. A second three-kilometer long vessel slowly moved to face the third Federation capital ship. The space between the two ships closed rapidly.

Tasha Yar, manning tactical looked up. "Captain, _Voyager_ is warning the shadow crab to back off."

"Pipe it through audio."

"Aye, Sir."

"…_fire on us, we will respond with deadly force."_

"_You have never been here,"_ was the response from the Shadow. "_Your kind have interfered and poisoned the great debate. The choice has been contaminated. For that your deaths are assured." _

"_I'm not sure what your grievances are,"_ the male voice said. _"And we would be willing to discuss them. But I want to warn you. It will take a lot more than your ship to stop us, let alone slow us down. Do not engage us."_

Yar paled slightly as her hands flew across her console. "Sir, I'm getting an energy increase from the shadow vessel!" Tasha yelled. "_Voyager's_ responding and has locked onto the ship. The battlecrab is starting to back away attack position, its weapons are powering up!"

Captain Picard knew that these ships were dangerous and he wasn't sure how effective _Voyager's_ shields were against the Shadow beam weapons. He knew that they had to have been studying the _Enterprise's_ weapons and defensives in an effort to get around them. But he didn't know how much improvement they had made. _Voyager_ could probably withstand a first and second strike but he was not aware of the ship's full capability. In any case, if the Shadow attacked then it would face the combined might of all of the Starfleet vessels present. And if it began a war, then so be it. They wouldn't have any other choice. "To all Federation ships lock on and prepare to fire!"

A loud screeching noise that seemed to tear into the minds of everyone permeated the air. Immediately the crab began to cycle down.

"_We will not fight. There will be time for that later,"_ a soft, rather feminine-sounding voice announced over the comms. _"You have upset the balance. Your presence is required now on _BabylonFive_ to explain your actions."_

"_We'll be there for you to explain yours,"__Voyager's_ Captain growled back.

"Sir, most of the Shadow vessels are backing away. Z-axis, twenty-thousand kilometers. Both Klingons vessels had de-cloaked and are holding position three thousand kilometers aft, Sir."

That was still within firing range. Picard stood rock-still as he digested the short speech just given. He wondered what the Shadows were so angry about. "Back to yellow alert, Mister Yar. And keep an eye on the Klingons as well. I do not want any surprises there."

"Yellow alert aye, Sir. We're being hailed by _Voyager_, Sir."

"_This is Admiral Janeway. Permission to beam aboard."_

The Captain allowed a small smile to escape. "Admiral with respect, the _Enterprise_ is still undergoing repairs. I would prefer to meet you onboard _Voyager_. "

"_Acknowledged, Captain. I've asked Captain Garrett and Sisko to join us as well."_

Many people wouldn't have noticed the small differences in the transporter effect, but

Captain Picard had. For one thing it was a bit faster, maybe a bit more refined. He and Lieutenant Commander Data arrived directly on the bridge of _Voyager_. Sisko and Garret were already there, looking a bit stunned as they studied the bridge's comparatively spacious configuration. He tried not to betray any surprise at anything that he saw, but this-excess of comfort was not what he was expecting. There was a much more relaxed atmosphere than he was used to. Another thing that immediately caught his attention was the Officer seated next to their navigator. He looked exactly like Data but somewhat older by as much as ten years. It had to be the somewhat arrogant Lore.

However what made him angry and a bit apprehensive was the tactical Officer. A Klingon in a Starfleet uniform! And a Klingon that looked like other Klingon, Worf. Picard found himself suppressing an angry outburst. Klingons were the enemy. No, he corrected himself. They were not, but everything that he was couldn't shake the feeling. Apparently, Sisko wasn't as surprise or concerned about that little fact. Guinan had believed Sisko, in fact had suspected this before Sisko had spoken to his 'brother'. He wasn't sure about that, but then, he wasn't sure about what the Q entity had told him in his dreams either. If he and his crew were able to get back would it even be a home that they'd recognize?

"Welcome to the USS _Voyager_, Captain Chakotay said to all of them, knocking Picard out of his reverie. To his right, was the Admiral Janeway speaking to a Vulcan Commander situated near tactical. To his left, Data was looking at Lore.

"Lore?" Data asked.

"No," the Commander answered. "I am Commander Data. I am in essence, you."

"Interesting. The fact that you are me would indicate that you are from a parallel reality. That theory can be substantiated by an analysis of your quantum signature. Were you created to appear as you are or did Doctor Soong somehow devise a way for your android form to age?"

"Doctor Soong created many innovations that has allowed me to emulate-"

"Excuse me; Lieutenant Commander, Commander Data," Picard interrupted. "Your conversation can be held at a later time." He had to stop them now, before of the two of them would start a session that lasted for hours.

Both of the Datas answered, "Yes, Sir."

"Admiral Janeway, Captain Chakotay, I must inform you that these Shadow vessels are very dangerous adversaries. Their beam weapons are strong enough to break through our shields and I am sure that they have attempted to devise a method to penetrate our shields more efficiently. And even though they are unshielded, they can take an enormous lot of punishment."

"We've analyzed their offensive and defensive capabilities," Commander Worf said to a very stern-looking Picard. "Their armor cannot withstand our pulse phasers and quantum torpedoes. The gravimetric and distortion fields common to this area of space, designed to blunt our phaser weapons have been analyzed and we have adjusted our weapons accordingly. Our multiphasic shields can withstand multiple attacks and we can adapt to them to improve our defenses. As of now, they're just bigger targets for our weapons to lock onto and destroy."

"You were able to analyze their capabilities that quickly?" Garrett asked. "It took us weeks to analyze our readings from those vessels and began to develop effective countermeasures."

"Research and development in a time of peace has generated several innovations that you are not currently aware of," Commander Data said. "Our scans of Captain Picard's ship indicate that the current dilithium configuration on the _Enterprise-D_ has not been used for the past fifteen years. The gel packs that enhance the speed of our computers are standard on all Federation starships alone, have increased computer response time by over twenty-three percent. Improvements in computer processing have increased another nineteen percent overall. The _Enterprise-D_ is almost fifteen years out of date with current specifications. And weapon's technology has increased significantly as well due to our contacts with the Borg, the Dominion and the Cylon Empire."

Picard and Garrett stared at each other. Again it was brought home to both of them how much it had cost his Federation. Guinan had called the _Enterprise_ a 'ship of peace'.

How he envied that vision.

"To the Captains Ready-room, if you please," a sober Chakotay said, pointing the way.

Picard noticed that the Admiral had stayed behind. It had something to do about transferring a passenger to _Babylon Five_.

Idly, he wondered why she had chosen not to use the transporters.

TBC


	39. Chapter 34 part B Eighteen Hours

_**Chapter Thirty-Four part 2**_

_**The third hour:**_

Once inside the spacious Ready room, the Captains and Officers unknowingly participated in a sort of staring contest. Admiral Janeway was immediately stuck by the similarity between herself and Rachel Garret in both looks and overall attitude. Captain Garrett was one of those famous Captains whose ships had been lost to history and myth. No one in the Federation had really discovered what happened to the _Enterprise-C _afterits contact with the Klingon colony. Its remains had never been found and other than the few static-filled communications about a Romulan attack, few actual details had ever been discovered. The truth wasn't reveled until Captain Picard-her Picard- had been introduced to Sela. Her Picard almost didn't go through with the meeting until Guinan urged him to do so. That woman carried a lot of influence with Picard and that in itself was intriguing. Kathryn intended to investigate that relationship, if and when she had the opportunity. And since Guinan was here she would talk to her.

As for Rachel Garrett, she had warmed to the Admiral very quickly which was interesting. It seemed as for some reason she considered _Voyager_ a lifeline of sorts, something she explained to the Admiral later. There existed a fundamental commonality between them that could not be denied. Both women had been isolated for long periods of time and their meetings here in this other universe, although brief would last both of them a lifetime. They would discover that the two of them had more in common than they knew.

Janeway now directed her attention at another familiar face. Captain Sisko seemed a definite mix from what she remembered of him and this incarnation facing her. He was apparently happy yet at the same time, disturbed to see her and the crew. It was as if he saw them as a transition from- or maybe to- another life. This Sisko was a bit more hard-core, standing there in his old-style uniform. When she asked him why he was wearing it, the quick explanation made sense, the name change as well, to '_Ambassador'_.

Now Kathryn Janeway studied this younger Picard with undisguised interest as the somewhat stiff man sat down in preparation for the talks. The command presence he carried permeated his being. There was very little in the way of casualness emanating from him. Many people unfamiliar with the man would have seen a cold, calculating, strong and hardened person waiting for the proverbial bottom to drop out; but she could see the fear of this entire situation being kept tightly in check. He was so much like her Picard, but tempered by some kind of hardness that she couldn't yet identify. His reaction to Commander Worf had been surprising; his hatred of the Klingon obvious. And there was something else…

Her mind drifted back to Rachel. Captain Garret's body language was-interesting. There were signals, subtle ones emanating between Picard and Janeway. Could there be a history between them, perhaps? She wouldn't have been surprised. In fact, she was a bit envious. How wonderful it would have been to have the company of another ship in the delta quadrant for those seven years. Jean-Luc wouldn't have been the worst traveling companion she could have imagined navigating through the Delta quadrant.

-

"Captains, this is the first of several meetings that I look forward to having with you all," Janeway said. "Let me first start by listening to your story once more. For obvious reasons, I haven't had much time to really talk and go through your logs in detail. But I do want to know what you know first, before I fill you in on all of the sorted details."

"I'll start," Garrett said which surprised Janeway somewhat.

The Admiral was somewhat astounded that Garrett was lead command here. For the next half hour Garrett explained the circumstances that pulled her ship into the future Federation timeline and then into this alternate, alien universe. "It was our intention to go back and re-engage the Romulans but, when both of our ships entered the temporal anomaly, we ended up here in this universe," she finished.

"So, Captain Picard, it was your intention to take the _Enterprise_-D back in time in order to prevent the Klingon conflict, knowing that your presence would pollute the timeline in the same way that Garrett's ship did with the future?"

"It was a calculated risk in order to prevent the war with the Klingon Empire," he bristled. "If the war could have been prevented, it was my intention to make sure it was. The Federation was on the brink of losing the war to the Klingons. That could not be allowed to happen."

She could see that some unknown Admiral second-guessing his actions irritated Picard. "Captain Picard as you know, your ship and Captain Garrett's _Enterprise_ being deposited into this quantum universe was a direct result of a temporal incident caused by beings attempting to destroy Humanity specifically and the Federation in general. The timeline that was created when the _Enterprise_-C came through the temporal anomaly was corrected for in my timeline. But because of the anomaly and the temporal war, you were created. I was told that in the instant you chose to help the Ambassador, there were an infinite number of possibilities that were generated within a very unstable universe that was at the edge of self destruction. The correct decision was to send Garrett's crew back to certain death against the Romulans and that would have healed the rift thereby correcting the timeline. However that decision was not made and Tasha Yar was sent back with the remains of Garrett's crew. They were captured and the _Enterprise_-C was destroyed. Tasha survived, was imprisoned and subsequently produced a child, Sela."

"The blond Romulan." Picard looked as if he had been slapped in the face. Garrett was in contrast looking very grim. The resemblance between Tasha and Sela was uncanny.

"Garrett was killed before the _Enterprise_-C could return to their proper time by an attack from a bird-of –prey," she said with more than a trace of sympathy. And this time she saw Garrett's involuntary intake of breath, while Picard turned more stone-faced than ever. Neither liked the idea of Rachel's death. "_Enterprise_ –D was destroyed while protecting the _Ambassador_," she continued. "That timeline was terminated and the original re-established. But the decision itself and the fact that Tasha returned with the _Enterprise-C_ created multiple possibilities in an already volatile temporal continuum. As you surmised, your being here was not an accident. The creators of that temporal portal wanted to make sure that the _Enterprise_-C could not return to its original time and place, so the portal was sabotaged. If you had gone back it would have either destroyed your ship or you would have been forever lost in temporal limbo. This didn't happen because beings called the Q saved you and it was they who are partially responsible for your presence here. The temporal cold war as we're calling it created fractures that the Q corrected, all but two. You're one of the 'possibilities that they couldn't catch in time. If Q had caught it in time then you would have remained a possibility, not a reality."

"So everything that Ben told us was true," Picard murmured sourly. "I've met this Q-in my dreams," he added belatedly. Even now that sounded silly. "He said we could get back to our own universe."

"No, there is no way back for you," Janeway answered him. "As I've said before, your being here is a result of a temporal cold war going on by many factions intent on either dominating or destroying Humankind and this galaxy. The failsafe was triggered when both of your ships went through the anomaly. Q stopped the failsafe from imploding but you were flung elsewhere and in order to save you, Q as in Quinn, sent you here. But the price is high. You're in lockout. If you return you will cease to exist."

"Q said that we could return," Picard stated. He was holding on to that position and he was being adamant about it.

Janeway opened her mouth, and then closed it again. That was a contradiction of everything he had told her. "No," Janeway countered. "He would have never said that." She was thinking hard now. Her curiosity was peeked. "You said that you saw him in a dream? What did he look like?"

Picard described the entity he'd seen. Janeway was taken aback but her suspicions were correct. Q would have never told Picard anything like that.

"You've described a creature called Iblis. He is an enemy of the Q and of all life not under his control, in general. If you could describe evil as a physical entity, one of those descriptions would characterize Iblis."

"The only reason why _Voyager_ is here in the first place is because of Q. He feels partially responsible for your mishaps here and the problems occurring right now. In the normal timeline for this reality, the Sinhindrea were stopped before they could escape into this universe. That hasn't happened in this timeline because of your presence."

"The ripple effect in action," Sisko surmised.

"Exactly. Some species called the Vorlons created a gateway which allowed them to come through to this universe. That's how we entered this universe. They originate from our universe and sooner or later they will come in conflict with the Federation and we will have to be ready if we're to survive."

"But what of the Federation?" Garrett asked. "In Picard's time, the Klingons were winning. We understand that it's different from what we knew but how different is it?"

"The Federation survives. I know you haven't had that much time to go over our logs, but the details and history are all there. But before I continue, what year would this be to you?"

"We contacted the _Enterprise_-C in 2366," Picard answered. "Our passage between the universes took two years, although only two hours had passed for the crew. We've been here for a year."

"To us, it is the year is now 2379."

Sisko simply shook his head. They'd been lost ten years. All of this confirmed what he had been told earlier.

"The Federation has survived, but we've had to fight for its survival," Chakotay solemnly added. And that has changed the face of the federation. We've been attacked by the Borg who almost assimilated Earth. We lost thirty-nine starships and over eleven thousand people at the battle of Wolf 359 in our first battle with them. The Marquis conflict that almost split Starfleet happened when the Federation gave away Federation planets to the Cardassians in order to maintain peace with them." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Admiral lower her head slightly. But she said nothing. "That indirectly started a small war with the Klingon Empire. What wasn't common knowledge was that this war was instigated by a government called the Dominion. The Dominion war was the last bloodiest war we've had. The Romulans, the Klingons and the Federation found a common enemy in them and we fought them. But many of our worlds were caught up in the fighting. Betazed was temporarily occupied by the Jem'hadar soldiers of the Dominion. We barely won that war. But we came out stronger. Then the Cylons came and we once again were in a war. Everyone's in it. The Cardassians and the Dominion are fighting against them. The Romulans have lost both of their home worlds. The Gorn Emporium was coming into it against the Cylons. It's everyone against them and the Borg are waiting in the wings to sweep up whatever's left. This is a war of extermination. If the Cylons win, there will be no one left alive in the Alpha and Beta quadrants."

"If this conflict is as serious as you say it is, then why are you even come here?" Picard demanded to know.

"Because it was the price we have to pay in order to help put an end to that war," Janeway answered. "We were 'informed' about the threat of the Sinhindrea and we needed a threat assessment despite our ongoing conflict. There is also the fact that the Cylons are after something and they've made a deal with the Borg to get it. A robotic race in league with a cybernetic collective will very well end life everywhere as we know it. You've read the reports of your counterpart concerning the Borg and what was done to him and that's only the beginning. Tell me, have you ever heard of V'ger?"

**_The fourth hour_:**

It has been said that working at _Babylon Five_ was like living in Chicago and predicting the weather; if you didn't like it, wait a little while because it was sure to change. That proverb had crossed Susan's mind while she wondered why _Voyager's_ shuttle had transported a single person to the station. She guessed that they didn't know that _B5_ personnel were aware of their transporters. Amazingly, Kosh was there to meet the occupant. That was strange. And Kosh seemed extremely respectful to the Humanoid looking alien passenger. Of course Susan assumed that these little snatches of life had to be bad.

That was when Russian fatalism kicked in. The Shadows demanded to come over to _B5_ as soon as possible. Things were going from bad to worse. Here she was inviting Shadows and that creep Morden, back onto _Babylon Five_. But instead of being accompanied by one or two ships like before, this time they came with an entire fleet. Weren't they supposed to have run away somewhere to the Rim or something? No-they had to come back and grace _B5_ with another visit. Personally, she wanted to shoot the first thing that exited that hideous shuttle now landing in bay three. It was the Shadows who had poisoned Earth via the Drakh. The Drakh may have attacked Earth but they were servants of Shadows and everyone knew it. Michael and his security team were waiting along with her for the visitors to enter the station. Everyone else in the area had fled or been evacuated. Who said that the rumor mill wasn't working these days?

The door opened and the immaculately dressed, ever-smiling Morden stepped through, flanked by four of the Shadows. The sight of those deadly insectoid-like aliens moving towards her sent a chill throughout her body as she struggled to speak. She tried to avoid being too close to them because if she did they would learn her name; her true spiritual name ripped from her soul that she wasn't sure she had. They seem to delight in fading in an out of view of their guards. And there was something else. They exuded a malevolence that contaminated everything around them. But as much as she wanted to, she couldn't quite look at them that way anymore, not since she had been told of the genetic manipulation done by the Vorlons. So far only a few people knew of the truth, something that was discovered when Dr. Crusher had examined an injured Kosh on the _Enterprise_. There had been no reason why Stephen had seen only beauty whereas she had seen undisguised horror beneath the Vorlons' protective suit. It was more than a simple lack of appreciation. Because of that clue, the discovery of their genetic alterations had been discovered two months later. Such a profound discovery of this magnitude had to be kept secret from everyone else. But keeping it irked and terrified her. What would the Vorlons do if they found out their secret had been discovered?

"Hello, Lieutenant Commander Ivanova," Morden said. He smiled as he spoke to her but it never extended to his eyes, as per usual. "I expected Commander Sheridan to meet us."

"He's busy preparing for the meeting," she answered him. "I'm surprised you came back. I thought you were gone for good, off to the Rim somewhere to breed little Mordens or something."

"Things have a way of changing," the man casually responded "The universe is a strange place, full of strife and conflict, with twists and changes that confound even the greatest of the old races. For example, the Sinhindrea could have been dealt with, but once more the people in this station managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. We are here to address this oversight."

"What are you talking about?"

"In due time, Susan. In due time."

"It's Lieutenant Commander Ivanova to you," she growled.

"Of course, if that's what you want," he smirked. "Lieutenant Commander Ivanova."

That came out as a threat if there ever was one. Susan really wanted to wipe that smile off of his face, preferably by jamming one of those phaser pistols set at maximum up his nose and pulling the trigger for a few seconds. "If you and your-associates follow Mister Garibaldi, our Security Chief will take you to your quarters until everyone can be assembled."

"That would be satisfactory." The smile disappeared and his entire persona even the light around him darkened. "But time is limited and my associates are anxious to get this settled." Without another word he turned and left followed by those things he called associates.

Her heart was racing and she was glad that they had moved on. Their very presence made her want to kill them, or barring that, run and hide in nearest available corner. Thinking about it she realized that it had to be a pre-conditioned response. Was that another programmed genetic response?

"I hate this job," she muttered to no one in particular. Relieved to be free and away from those creatures she headed towards the lifts. The door opened and Ambassadors Kosh and Guinan were inside. It was as if they knew she would be there at that exact instant.

_Oh-oh. _

Entering the lift, she turned to face the doors, not wanting to look at the two of them. "I suppose you know that the Shadows are here."

A musical tone accompanied a soft word. "Yes."

"It's bad for everyone. But it seems like all they want to do is talk."

"For now," Guinan said guardedly. "But you're going to have to be prepared for a lot worse, Susan."

Now she turned to face them. "What do you mean worse?"

"The Vorlon fleet is coming here to _B5_," Guinan answered her. "They'll be here within two Earth hours."

"Oh, God! They're not about to start shooting at each other, are they?" That very thought horrified her.

"No," Kosh said. "But they will decide. Prepare yourself."

"Susan, these are the remains of three fleets just returning from deep space missions. They didn't leave for the Rim like the others and Kosh convinced them to at least discuss the issue since it's the Vorlons who gave the Sinhindrea access here in the first place. But as far as Vorlons go, they're less enlightened than Kosh is these days."

"Impertinent creature," the Vorlon hissed.

"That's what my seventh husband said to me a few hundred years back," she countered sweetly, silently mocking him as his iris narrowed in amusement.

Susan looked at them amazed while they conversed with an intimacy that she thought was impossible with Vorlons. "We're going to need everyone's help. I hope that they will listen."

"Lorien will mediate," Kosh said softly. "When the time comes."

The way Kosh had spoken that name sent shivers down her spine. His voice screamed respect and the alien didn't look all that imposing. "And who is this Lorien?" asked Susan.

"The First."

"The first what?"

"The First One," he answered.

"As in a First One?" she gasped.

"No," Kosh answered. "He is the First."

-

TBC in 34 part C. As you can see, this is a long section. For fun you might want to do a comparison between this story and 'ATV' concerning the Minbari and the changes are coming. Please enjoy. Comments are welcomed as well as critiques.


	40. Chapter 34 part C eighteen hours

_**You might think that this is a long chapter. I think that you're right. To everyone reading and making comments-I thank you very much. I enjoy writing this and I hope that you do as well.**_

_**Chapter 34-Part C**_

**_(The Armageddon conflict-Part 11)_**

**_The fifth hour:_**

**_United Planets_ _cruiser C-57-D_ now entering _Babylon Five_ space:**

"DC point in twenty seconds, Skipper."

"Captain to crew, attention. We will decelerate into normal space in ten seconds."

"Crew signals ready, Skipper." Silently, Wilson thanked Robby and the Feds for perfecting the inertia fields on the _'D'_ so that those deceleration pods weren't needed anymore.

"Right. Three seconds, two, one…mark."

The _United Planets C57-D'_s surprise entry into _Babylon Five_ space was rewarded by being fired upon by the same Shadow vessel that had threatened _Voyager_. The powerful purplish–red beam slashed across the tiny ship's hull. The force of the beam knocked the tiny ship violently off course and sent it tumbling.

Commander Tuvok immediately scanned the ship for survivors as _Voyager_ and every other ship in the vicinity went to red/combat alert. The small vessel righted itself, apparently undamaged and returned fire with its blasters. The Shadow hit, vessel screamed as portions of its armor disintegrated from the tiny ships unknown type of neutron-derived beam weapons. The battlecrab obviously traumatized that something so small could have hurt it, backed off and went into full battle mode.

The UP vessel was protected by an energy field completely different from Federation shields. The beam fired by the battlecrab interacted with the field, was ripped apart, converted into light and its sub-molecular components. Likewise, the return fire from the saucer's blaster pulses ripped into Shadow armor and had torn it apart at the molecular level. Unlike phasers, these pulses weakened and ripped apart magnetic forces holding matter together. The result was devastating as armor continued to peel and break off long after the weapon ceased fire. Hurt, the Shadow vessel commander started their attack run. But before it could fire its beam weapon once more, three identical beams from sister ships slashed into the attacking Shadow crab. The resultant scream of shock and betrayal before it died, just about shut down most of normal minds that heard it.

"_We apologize," _a soft voice said through communications to a livid Captain John Adams. _"The offender has been chastised."_

"What was wrong with that fool of a Commander?" he shouted. "We didn't threaten him in any manner!"

"_They will trouble you no more."_

"And just who are you?" he growled. He wanted answers now. No one fired on his ship with explanations.

"_We are dancers of the dark,"_ the alien retorted. _"This communication ends."_

Very angry, he determined that he would find out what was going on later. Right now, he needed to find out the condition of his ship. "What's our damage?"

"Defense field suffered a fifty percent drop," Lieutenant Wilson answered quickly. "The primary field generators will need to be taken offline for repair, Skipper. Gravity generator took a hit. Looks like everybody's got some kind of injury, mostly minor though. We weren't expecting to be attacked here."

"We're getting another call, Sir. It's from _Voyager_, the other Federation ship."

"Onscreen."

"_This is Captain Chakotay of the Federation Starship _Voyager_. Can we offer assistance?"_

"Yes," Adams answered. He had stared a bit before he caught himself. Now they had a Native American Captain commanding. These people were certainly different! That had been impressed upon him and his crew once before and now they were being reminded again. The more he saw the more he was getting used to it and had decided that, as strange as it was, it wasn't as bad as he first thought. "We've got quite a few injuries, several broken bones and a possible skull fracture. _B5_ is busy and I would like to dock my ship in your landing bay if possible."

"_Your ship is a bit big to fit inside but we will prep for a ship to ship docking. We'll tractor you to our docking ring_."

Robby activated the screen and locked onto the black-spidery ships floating in the distance. As Adams looked at them, he felt a shiver go up his spine. What kind of nightmarish-alien mind would design something like that?

"Will you look at the size of those spiders things!" asked a very wary, nervous-looking Wilson.

"Robby, perform a detailed scan of those ships and see if we can adjust our energy screens to make them more effective against their energy weapon. Gunneries, keep a lock until we're docked. Cut artificial gravity. Cut primary coils. Gunners deactivate target locks when we are safely docked."

"Aye, aye, Skipper," the robot and the weapons Officer answered respectfully.

Once clamped onto _Voyager's_, medical teams were waiting to treat the crew as opposed to transporting them off of the ship. The Skipper didn't like the idea of having his people moved by teleportation. That kind of breech of security of his ship trapped in this universe was unthinkable. These days Adams didn't have a problem with the Feds or _B5_ but still, it was better to be careful.

Several of his people were treated on the spot while two others were taken to sick bay as a precaution. He and Robby inspected the ship for outside damage and unfortunately found some in the form of an ugly scorch mark located on the hub of the vessel. So focused was he on the ship, he failed to notice the Federation Officers entering the bay.

"Tough little ship," a voice said from behind him.

Turning he saw a Klingon, one that looked remarkably like the Klingon First Officer he'd met some time before. Then he noticed two Datas side by side, one of them looking older by years. Robby had been quite thorough in his reports.

Unlike many others, he knew that Data was an android, because of his associating with Robby. He was somewhat surprised to see the older Data. It was quite interesting really and like many others he assumed that it had to be the Lore.  
"You must be Commander Lore?" John asked.

Data betrayed a look of surprise. "You are aware of my brother?"

"Well Data is here and Robby's told me about you so I assumed you were Lore."

"A logical conclusion, but I am Commander Data. I'm from another reality."

"Oh," was all that John managed to say. "Join the Club. Commander, do you know why that thing fired on my ship?" hissed a very ticked-off United Planets Captain.

"Ah," said the Doctor, coming up to minister to the Skipper. "And you must be Robby. It's a pleasure to meet another artificial lifeform."

"A genuine pleasure to meet you," Doctor, the robot said. "A holographic sustainer. Are you an independent entity?"

"As much as I can be," the Doctor replied. "I'm curious. Does your lack of independence disturb you?"

"No, Doctor. I am content with my status."

"His operational protocols are different, Doctor," Lieutenant Commander Data said. "And notice that Robby's command of language is superior to ours, brother."

"I am aware of that. It is fascinating. I wonder if our positronic brains have a self limiting factor that Robby's and the Doctor's for a that fact does not. It is something worth studying in more detail. Perhaps that understanding will allow me to correct the system-wide cascading failure that Lal experienced."

"Who is Lal?" the younger Data asked.

"Lal was an android I created in my attempt to procreate. She was my daughter," Commander Data responded. "I replicated many of my neuropathways and gave them to her as a template, but she did not survive."

"You had a daughter?" the other Data asked. "He looked at the older Data imitating a very good approximation of surprise.

Robby said nothing but its interest had been peeked. Procreation was something that it had not considered. There were built-in limitations to its own creativity set there by Dr. Morbius. It had rules but it was truly interested in others of its kind adding to the number of artificial life. And that was exactly what it was, as much as the other three standing before it.

"Yes. The android I created chose a feminine persona but as she progressed, she was unable to adjust to the emotions that flooded her neuropathways. They collapsed and she was deactivated two weeks after she began her existence."

"Astonishing," the younger Data said. "What possessed you to create an android in your image?"

The Doctor jumped in before the two androids could continue their conversation. "This conversation, as fascinating as it is, can wait for a more convenient time. Between the four of us, I am sure we can come up with something that can eliminate or correct the cascade failure. But right now I must treat Captain Adams before his wife comes onboard and complains that my quick and efficient ministrations are lacking."

This Doctor was really sarcastic, he thought. He wondered what the original was like. "Alta knows I'm back?"

"Mrs. Altara Adams was on _B5_ when she told me that she nearly fainted when you were attacked," the Doctor said. "I've noticed she exhibits empathic abilities and when it comes to you, she is quite-connected. Doctor Troi has noticed it as well but again it works somewhat differently than hers."

John nodded as the Doctor started his ministrations. Again he felt the loss of his best friend. 'Doc' Ostrow would have loved this conversation with these artificials. "She knew when we were attacked by the Id monster. She's known several things that have occurred when she couldn't possibly have. I had forgotten about her almost psychic connection to the wild animals on Altair. Her father's brain had been artificially enhanced before she was born. He could have passed on some of those traits. She's certainly smarter than I am."

"It is possible. She will be here soon. Then you two can talk about your future."

John's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"She's over a month now."

"A month of what-oh?" Shock. Joy. Fear. Curiosity. He didn't know what to feel.

"Congratulations, Captain."

_Why now?_ Well, he knew why. He was in a state of semi-shock. _But, why now?_

"Commander, I want to find out why the fired on my ship!"

"Yes Sir," responded both Datas.

_-**  
**_

_**The Sixth hour**_

**The _Azetbur_:**

"They are ready, my Lord."

"Transport now."

"My Lord."

Two beams of energy quickly converted into matter, revealing three nervous but excited Klingons. They stood gaping at the huge room that looked more like a restaurant than anything else. Such pleasantries were unheard of on a Klingon warship.

"Kuvesa tokhesa," Captain Koral said the instant the transport was completed. "I serve willingly," he repeated.

Captain Kagth resisted the urge to break into laughter by some of the most sincere groveling he'd even seen. Klingons who were lost but now found. Captain Koral, first Officer Worf, Son of Morg, you are on the _Azetbur_, flagship of the Kmerex Klingon. You have survived, done well. Why have you made alliances with the Narn?"

The young Officer gulped, and then straightened. "We were alone among the other universal Humans. None of our kind exists in this universe. I did what was best for my crew."

Kagth glared at him and then broke into laughter. "Well done, young Captain. You could have destroyed yourselves in glorious battle, but you show wisdom. But how did you come by this ship?"

"Many of the crew died during the transition to this place. I was the highest ranking Officer left alive."

'_What transition was he talking about'?_ "This ship has weapons damage carrying a Federation signature. Why?"

"Battle damage from the Federation warships a week before we arrived here?" he suggested.

"You attacked a Federation Starship?" Kagth was incensed, but curious.

"Yes," Koral's immediately responded. "We are at war. Standing orders '_were'_ to attack and destroy all Starfleet ships."

The older Captain stood back for a second. Again he was stuck by how wrong this was. According to his records, this ship shouldn't even exist. They must have come from a different timeline which seemed especially plausible as he stared at a younger Worf. This was an unexpected development. That also explained the _Enterprise_-D and the _Ambassador_. He wondered if Janeway knew about this. In either case this was glorious. He would find out how these other Klingons lived. "The war with the Federation?" he suggested, prompting Koral to answer.

"Yes. Twenty-two standard years. We were winning. K'mpec was poisoned eighteen years ago, and the Duras family ruled the Empire."

At that, Kagth spit. "G'daya Duras," he cursed. "Their family is no more and good riddance I say!"

"My Lord Captain," Worf said quietly. "May I speak?" Kagth assented. "We were told that there was no war between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, and that we were 'created' from a fracture, a mistake in time. I want to know, was there a war with the Federation?"

"We had a slight disagreement with them before the war with the Dominion," he conceded. "But that was a long time ago and not worth mentioning. They are our allies now. There was never a real war with the Federation. We did come close a few times but when the _Ambassador_ saved the colonists near the Narendra III outpost things changed. Honor was served. I don't know if you are fractures or not. But you are Klingons and you have found a way. We will repair and update your ship for the coming war. Your crew will come and relax among fellow Klingons. The _Azetbur_ will be your home for a time. You will eat fresh skull stew and gagh. We will talk."

Just then, one of the Colonial crewmembers entered the Officer's lounge, gave a quick bow to the shocked stares of Koral and Worf. The Officer nodded and the Captain acknowledged him before waving him off.

"Kagth laughed. "There is much to talk about. But before that, we have another guest."

Captain Koral and first Officer Worf trembled as Commander Worf of the Starship _Voyager_ materialized into their company.

"What is this?" demanded the younger Worf. Next to him, Koral was so rattled that he was about to pull out his mek'leth.

Worf walked up to his younger counterpart. I am Worf, Son of Morg. I am your counterpart."

"You wear a Federation uniform!" he sneered. The younger Worf stuttered slightly. "You're older."

"And wiser," Worf said. "Captain, Kagth, Captain Koral, Officer Worf, we should talk."

"Madness!"

"No," Worf growled, "causalities of a temporal war. Your home is here now."

"He is right. But first we eat and tell stories of our adventures and the heritage you have lost," the Captain ordered. "Then we will listen to the Humans argue with those others about the correct course of action."

"But that is all the Humans do here, talk."

"There is reason to their madness, Captain Koral. The great enemy is here and there will be battle enough for everyone. The Sinhindrea will drown this galaxy in blood if they are not stopped." Captain Kagth moved closer to Koral, eyes blazing. You will listen and you will participate and maybe you will survive."

Commander Worf and his counterpart walked into one of the holographic rooms onboard the Klingon battleship. He appreciated the vessel that his people had created. It was fit for a warrior but it served other purposes as well. Maybe this was the future of his people. His people were discovering the true path of honor. War without purpose was a waste. This ship spoke of promise and honor. It was worthy. Behind him his younger wild-haired countered followed, his every step weary as if he would be attacked at any moment. Worf recognized his actions as fear.

"Battle simulation," Worf ordered. "Mon'thor terrain."

Immediately the imager complied and the room turned into bright forest like terrain. Overhead a large lizard like creature casually glided from tree to tree momentarily capturing the younger Worf's attention.

The Starfleet commander picked one of the bat'leths and tossed to his counterpart who caught it easily. Worf chose another one and moved into a defensive stance. Then he eased into a basic kata exercise. Closing his eyes he said to First Officer Worf, "Follow me, if you can."

He heard a growl and the younger Klingon began to follow his movements. Amidst the sounds of wild things screaming in the distance the two of them fell into a pattern, their movements identical in almost every way. The Commander knew that it would be so while the younger Worf failed to hide his surprise.

"We are one, Worf," Worf said. "I was married twice. The first was to the Klingon-human woman K'Ehleyr and we had a son, Alexander. She was killed by Duras."

"Duras of the House Duras," the younger growled. "They began the war that lasted for twenty-two years. Their house grew fat on the blood of our people."

"Duras is dead," the Commander said. "I killed him myself in combat. His sisters, Lursa and B'Etor are also dead, destroyed by the _Enterprise-D_."

Worf smiled the first real one since coming to this strange ship. "Does your son live?" he was curious. What did his son look like?

"He lives."

He took a breath and slowly let it out. The weight of the world slammed on top of him. "I have nothing," the First Officer said.

"You are mistaken. You have your life ahead of you. Do not allow your loneliness destroy what you are."

"I am not you, Starfleet."

"No, you are Klingon. And you have Guinan. You have Captain Sisko and you have Captain Picard. You have more than you know."

"Picard is my enemy. But, you respect him."

Worf sighed. "You both have much to learn."

"You are enjoying this."

"Yes," Commander Worf said. "It is not often that you get a chance to talk to yourself. I have made mistakes that, if you are wise, you can avoid."

First Officer Worf straightened himself and stood tall. Life was becoming interesting once more. "Begin the Kata once more. I will listen to what you have to say."

"I will listen also," Worf said. Then he dropped the bombshell. "After K'Ehleyr, there was Deanna Troi."

The younger Worf managed not to stumble.

"Multiple jumpoints opening," Corwin announced. "They're Vorlons, at least sixty vessels of all configurations."

Susan stifled the curse threatening to burst forth. She knew they were coming but that didn't stop her from reacting in surprise and dread. The presence of the Shadows and Vorlons together could precipitate a battle that none of them could afford right now. The only good thing that she could see right now was that they weren't charging weapons.

Corwin was speaking again. "The Vorlons are sending over a shuttle. It'll be here in six minutes."

"Very polite of them to ask first," she muttered with unusual venom. "Okay, let's do it by the numbers. Place the Vorlon ship in the same bay as Ambassador Kosh's and for God's sake do not let it get anywhere near the Shadow ship."

"Absolutely, Ma'am."

The shuttle, looking almost exactly like Ambassador Kosh's ship but larger, landed without incident. The three occupants were met by the Vorlon Ambassador, Captain Sheridan and Ambassador Guinan. To say the Vorlons were pleased by recent event would have been insane. They three of them were radiating auras of what could only be described as extreme hostility. And most of it was directed at Guinan.

The lead Vorlon, dress in a dark green, almost black encounter suit, was the most focused and the angriest of the three.

"You should not be here," the Vorlon Leader said. The malevolence in his voice almost shook the room. "Leave, now and take yours with you. The circle is destroyed. It is your fault."

"Your people made a mistake," she answered the Vorlon. "You played God and you've discovered that you can't control the universe. Your pride led us all to this point. But you can take responsibility for your actions."

To John's eyes, the leader seemed to get bigger. He couldn't say anything. This was way out of his league.

"Go. Now."

"No. I won't," Guinan answered him. "We're here to stay."

That enraged the leader even more. "We will make you leave. We will des…"

The Leader stiffened suddenly. Guinan's hands were in a quasi-defensive posture and the other two Vorlons had stepped back, suddenly weary of the creature before them. Their leader was gripped in some sort of titanic mental struggle. His suit was glowing as he tried to press his assault against what he first assumed was a pathetic Human. To his chagrin he discovered that she was far, far more than a mere Human. That she had so completely shielded herself from his natural probes had surprised him even more. Worried now, he was prepared to ask for assistance when the assault simply went away. Once more, the woman called Guinan appeared for all intents and purposes to be a normal Human being and with a start, he understood that normal Humanity was _'her'_ encounter suit.

"You will listen and deal with the situation that you've caused," Guinan told the Leader.

His iris narrowed into a slit, but he didn't disagree. "We will talk," he finally said.

"About time," Guinan answered. She wasn't backing down a centimeter.

All of the Koshs headed towards the conference room with a much relieved Sheridan leading the way. They weren't even having the meeting yet and things were explosive. He couldn't imagine what would happen if something were to go wrong.

Representatives from two dozen races sat quietly as they waited for the conference to begin. The Shadow and Vorlons sat opposite from one another, watching each other carefully, while studiously ignoring everyone else. It was a shock to both species when Lorien casually entered the room. The Vorlon visitors looked as if they wanted to run away, while the Shadows did everything but grovel at his feet. Who this Lorien was, John had no idea, but he did command respect from some of the most powerful aliens in existence and as such he couldn't help but be impressed.

The Federation, Klingon contingents, Captain Adams and his wife, Altara were together in one section of the conference conferring among themselves.

Minbari, Narn, Gaim, Vree, Drazi, Brakiri and Human representatives of Earth Alliance were huddled together, something that Sheridan found amusing. It was as if different groups gravitated towards that which they found most comfortable.

'Birds of a feather' syndrome was at work here. As per usual, everybody looked to him to begin. This was one of the few times that he felt the intensity of the scrutiny playing with his mind. Well, it was time he played back.

After the standard introductions and courtesies, he began. "For the past year, there has been fighting and wars breaking out all over the sectors. The Narn have fought the Centauri. The Vorlons fought against the Shadows. Earth was embroiled in a civil war and a conflict with the Centauri. Earth Alliance went after resistance leaders and the Federation starships. The Feds fought the Drakh, Centauri, and Earth Alliance. The Minbari were attacked by the Drakh and went to war against the Centauri allies. The Shadows were on the move while the Vorlons seemingly did nothing. The list goes on and on. At first it didn't make any real sense. Oh, there were a few legitimate reasons for war. There always was. But then, a pattern began to evolve and we discovered that the Shadows were behind many of the attacks. Finally we thought that we had some sort of grasp of the situation. But then the latest surprise happened.

"Our universe was introduced to an ancient species, the Sinhindrea. I say introduced because these aliens are not from our universe. They arrived here by way of a gateway, an interdimensional stargate, if you will, created by the Vorlons untold generations ago and unknowingly let loose by the Shadows. The Sinhindrea have attacked or threatened every single race that they've come into contact with and Shadows aside, they are the greatest threat we have ever faced. There have been races we have never seen before fleeing from them and for some reason heading here, looking to us for safety. We don't know how many non-starfaring races have been lost, however we have to assume that it has been quite a few. These refugees are heading here and we're too busy shooting at one another to notice the galaxy burning down around us. This conference here is to decide what if anything we are going to do about it."

Both the Shadows and Vorlons appeared miffed as each one shifted uneasily every time their names were mentioned. Morden had requested that one of his associates be allowed to address the conference. John reluctantly agreed. Now the Shadow, looking so much like some horrific nightmare of a spider moved ever so gracefully towards the podium. It didn't have to move but it chose to and it was making a point. The jet-black glistening creature was partially phased as it slowly skittered up the stairs. And it was big, easily twice the size of a Human, with legs long enough to strike at three times its length. It represented everyone's idea of a nightmare and it relished in the fear it brought to the conference. Only the Federation and United Planets representatives seemed not to fully feel its mind-numbing effect. That was because they were 'untreated' by either Vorlon or Shadow psychic or genetic manipulations. To the Shadows, their minds tasted alien and the cautious creature wanted them gone post haste.

By nature the Shadows did things in the background, allowing others to perform their deeds when the time came. So, this was a surprise to see the creature becoming the lime-light of this meeting.

Many of those in the room held their breaths until the creature spoke. Many wanted to flee from this abomination glaring at them with its multiple compound eyes. Many of them suspected that they'd go mad when the heard its voice. When the Leader of the Shadow horde spoke, many were shocked to hear such beauty coming from such a hideous creature. However the word betrayed the beauty of the melodious voice.

"The Vorlons have asked you 'Who are you?'" the alien began. "But they have not cared for the answers that you have given them. They have not come to protect you from the threats as we have. They have created dangerous artifacts that have allowed death to enter this galaxy. When you have asked of us, we have responded and given what you desire. What we desire, what we have always desired is that you be strong, to be those who stand in the times of darkness and strife which is the nature of the universe. You have asked of us and we have given freely to all of those who have been brave enough to resist the manipulation of the Vorlons. The Vorlons have tried to stop us from helping those who have asked of us and it brought war between us and we were victorious. But in our victory came the seeds of our defeat. We opened a spoil of war and the Sinhindrea entered our galaxy. The Vorlons could have warned the races of the danger of that artifact but their pride stopped them from doing what was morally right." The Shadow's gaze matched the intensity of the animosity oozing out of the Vorlon delegation. "They said nothing. Their silence destroyed our world," the alien moaned. "We opened the door and they came. We fought them for six weeks while they gained footholds within our system. Six thousand of our ships 'died' in the war. Another thousand were injured and still they came through the doorway. Our world was bombed until finally, we were forced to flee. Our world was now theirs and we were forced to abandon it.

"My people had a plan to stop the aliens, but it is ruined." The creature paused for a moment to let that sink in. "The Drakh are servants of the Shadows. We ordered them to attack Earth because we wanted to."

The entire assembly erupted. Throughout the screaming and condemnations and calls for war, the Shadow stood there unperturbed. The most vocal were the Humans of Earth Alliance. Demands for retribution were called for.

"Let him speak."

The voice commanded and dead silence reigned. The High Vorlon repeated himself. "Let him speak."

The Shadow's eyes glowed in appreciation. "The great enemy stirs for the hunt. We knew this and chose Earth as a way to destroy them. The plague on the planet will kill only a few. But it will weaken the Human population, making them easy prey. The Sinhindrea still hunt for us, and anything we have come into contact with. The will come to Earth and devour the Humans. Their fleet is weakened and will not pose a threat. Do you understand? The plague is designed for the Sinhindrea. It will spread within them and they will die and the threat will end."

Sheridan was infuriated. "You sons of…You want my world, my people to be your sacrificial lambs!"

"Of course, Captain Sheridan," the Shadow answered sweetly. If you want to save the galaxy, something must be sacrificed. If they are not, then someone world will die. Then the next will die, and the next and the next and the next and the next, until there is no one left. Do you want to save the Narn, the Minbari, the Centauri, the Abbai, the Gaim, the Vree, the Brakiri, the Drazi, the Llort Mi-Ma-Ti, the Pak'ma'ra, all of the younger races, the Vorlons, a hundred others- and even us?" it purred. It took the hush as a confirmation. "Then sacrifice the Humans!" it continued. "Is one minor, insignificant race worth the price for so many?"

The silence was deafening. But there was a voice and its power reverberated throughout the conference room.

A lone Vorlon voice answered the question. "No. That others will be saved makes their sacrifice worthwhile. The Vorlons agree."

TBC


	41. Chapter 34 part D Eighteen hours

**Chapter 34 Part D**

**Eye Openers **

**The Fifth hour** (continued) **_Babylon Five:_**

G'Kar was stunned. No one was prepared to say anything on the behalf of the Humans, except the Humans themselves, of course. The other Vorlons were silent and he got the distinct impression that at least most of them, other than the Ambassador, approved this plan of controlled genocide. He was feeling sick. The very concept was intolerable.

Unable to stand it any longer, he stood and was recognized. He opened his mouth and it was as if a mountain had decided it was time to weigh in. "Respected members of the council and various representatives, the Shadows have just condemned Earth and no one here has the nerve to come to their defense?" he asked. His glare caused many of the other species to turn away, frightened to defy the Shadows and possibly incur their wrath. Some secretly agreed with the decision if it would save their worlds from destruction. Most were simply unsure how to proceed. But the overriding reason was shame. Fear gripped them and self-preservation for themselves and their worlds, dominated over all other concerns.

"I was told once that the sacrifice of one may be necessary for the rest to survive," continued the Narn representative. "At the time, those words made a great deal of sense to me and in many ways that changed my perspective of how life works. I believed what was told to me because it sounded right. I must admit that I found that revelation to be very enlightening and it allowed me to see things clearly for the first time, or so I believed. I then found myself being enlightened further by this Human Ambassador we know as Guinan. In the course of our conversations, she uttered a simple truth and it is something I have never forgotten. That truth touched me in a way that Vorlon logic never could. She said that a sacrifice should be freely given, not applied by some other race or entity simply because it is convenient for their purposes. He looked at the EarthForces, B-Five and Federation representatives listening intently to his speech. I don't see the Humans offering themselves as a willing sacrifice here. I see others, a species we have been at war with for a thousand years, a species that consider us less than nothing, telling us to sacrifice another of our kind so that they can survive and continue doing what they've always done.

"These Shadows care NOTHING for us. They have attacked our worlds, kidnapped our people, manipulated our politics, and slaughtered our species for their own unfathomable reasons. They have never helped us, except to further their own, personal agendas, which from my humble perspective seems more convoluted than a coiled DNA strand. If we consent to the Shadow's wishes, how will we and our children and our children's children live with ourselves? And how will we sleep knowing that these Shadows may well call upon our own people to commit the ultimate sacrifice if this plan of theirs doesn't work? Representatives of the younger races, at this very second, we stand here at the crossroads between survival and darkness. How do we want to proceed? What fork in the road will we choose in order to survive? Will we choose to consume our own children so that we may have one more day of life? What is the price we will be forced to pay if we allow this travesty?"

"I can speak for Earth," Sheridan said the instant G'kar sat down. He and the other Humans were sincerely grateful for what G'kar had said. The Narn had just laid the foundations of much improved Human-Narn relations if they the coming war. "We will never lie down and die because some race assumed that it was in their best interest for us to do so. If nothing else, the Minbari understood that. Despite their 'surrender' Earth Alliance lost that war. The Minbari are technologically and physically superior to our species. We didn't have a chance in hell, but we didn't give up, no matter what. We would have surrendered, and we tried to," he added as he looked pointedly at a defiantly subdued Neroon. "But since we couldn't, we would have died fighting the Minbari to the last man and women. It is our nature to do so. No one tells us to lie down and die, except us. Only if we choose to, would we make that kind of sacrifice.

"We will find a cure and we will fight the Sinhindrea when they come," he defiantly announced to the assembly. "You have crippled us," he said to the Shadow representative. "But we will still stand and fight with everything we have left, because we choose to. You make me sick. You sent your servants the Drakh to make war on others and us for your amusement. Then you sent them to cripple Earth's defenses so that you could strike against your enemies and keep your hands clean in the process. With the Drakh presence in our system and the Shadow hybrids, you knew that it would draw the Sinhindrea. You expected them to render Earth defenseless, and then ravage our planet. Well, that didn't work out as well as you planned, did it? Didn't you know that the universe doesn't play fair? It doesn't conform to 'our' rules no matter how advance or enlightened you are. Everyone is on a level playing ground when it comes to the universe. And now you're frightened that your plans are screwed."

"Your survival instincts are laudable," the Shadow leader answered. "But it will make no difference and in the end. They will come and sacrifice your people, but because of your resistance, many more worlds will succumb first and it will be your fault entirely. You, John Sheridan, will be responsible for billions of additional deaths."

Sheridan's tempered flared once more. "Don't place that blame on me," he hissed. "I don't see you trying to plan any organized resistance against them. I do see you trying to take the easy way out, one that will cause you the least amount of trouble. I didn't see you coming to Earth and fighting the Sinhindrea, which could have made it an even more inviting target. I don't see you offering your resources to help."

"Our resources would not have been needed if 'they' hadn't interfered," the creature said. The Federation and Klingon delegation stiffened. "Their interference has ruined everything."

"Their interference has ruined indeed everything," the Vorlon High Leader rumbled. "They were never supposed to be here. The circle is ruined; the test is undone. Their presence forces disorder. The mountain range collapses because the pebbles dared to present themselves as stumbling blocks."

/\

Londo found himself standing demanding recognition. He hadn't realized he'd done it until words had forced themselves past his mouth. "The Shadows have helped to ruin our world and you high and mighty Vorlons did nothing but stand back and watch and offer comments no one in their right minds can understand. The Centauri are in danger too. These creatures have come to visit our world and they left millions dead and dying. My world has been touched by Shadow and it could have easily been Centauri Prime that you could have picked to make this 'ultimate' sacrifice. I will not stand here and allow you 'things' to pick and choose who will live and die."

"We are disappointed in our choice by picking you to be our liaison, Ambassador Mollari. We had high hopes for you, but you have failed us and we will redress our decision, as we will with this 'Federation and Klingon Empire'.'"

Mollari gulped. He knew the pronouncement of a death sentence when he heard one. That was a death sentence if ever he heard one. But surprising, he continued. "Do what you will, but your vindictiveness will not allow you to win victory again these creatures any more than they did the last time. Centauri Prime will support the Humans and any other species you have chosen to run your little experiments on. We may be decadent and slow to recognize our weaknesses, but we learn from our mistakes."

"Then indeed, your education will come at a high price," the Shadow coldly retorted.

/\

Admiral Janeway stood up and was recognized. That the shadows had directly threatened both the Empire and the Federation hadn't escaped her. But they'd have to find them first, and then get past the Borg and or Cylon Alliance, and maybe the Dominion. But she didn't like to be threatened and she intended to back these people off. "Threats are not going to solve anything, but divide us at this point. It is prudent of us to deal with the problem at hand. However before we can do this, there are certain misconceptions that need to be clarified. First, despite the recent presence of alpha quadrant starships in this –area, the cold war mentality of all of the races here has been going on for hundreds of years. Every single one of you has isolated yourselves from one another. Even the league members don't work together closely enough to create a real alliance. Earth Alliance is isolated. The Narn have only themselves for support. The Centauri have isolated themselves and are distrusted by everyone. The Minbari are aloft and although one of the most influential and powerful races around, have chosen to remain for the most part isolated. The Vorlons-well, no one knows much about them-or so they think. The same goes for the Shadows. We're looking at things through mud and now is the time to clarify certain misconceptions."

"The Federation sent _Voyager_ to assess the threat the Sinhindrea represent and frankly they're going to be a problem to deal with." She almost smiled as both the Vorlons and Shadows perked up. She knew what they were thinking-that the Federation might be closer than they thought. Good. A little misdirection was good for the soul. "The authority that sent my ship here knew of the situation here and had little hope that anything would be resolved. I was told not to trust anybody and my source was unfortunately proven correct. But before I continue, I have a question for the Vorlon Leader. Will your people help in this war?"

The Leader paused as all eyes shifted toward him. He didn't want to answer this impertinent Human but his presence here required him to. "The Vorlon people have left. Our resources are insufficient."

"Is that a 'no'?" she asked, as all eyes turned towards the uncomfortable Vorlon.

"Yes."

Admiral Janeway frowned at the curt and somewhat evasive answer. Well, two could play it that way. "I find that interesting that you would run away, in spite of the fact that it was your device that allowed the Sinhindrea access to this space in the first place. I find it interesting that you could have destroyed the gate once you discovered the danger but instead merely tried to close it, allowing your own people to spirit it away to be found by someone else making it their problem. You could have told the Shadows of the danger but you didn't, instead you allowed them to open the portal and introduce the Sinhindrea to this universe. Did you allow this out of petty revenge or did you feel that it wasn't your problem anymore?"

The Vorlon's iris narrowed and he took an involuntary step towards the arrogant Human who obviously knew a lot more than she should have. Energy radiated from him as he prepared to teach this impertinent creature a lesson she would never forget.

"No," a whisper from the side ordered him. He turned and Lorien's gaze was upon him. He withered under the scrutiny. "Touch her and all of your people will suffer. She is protected by power you can't begin to comprehend."

Another pair of eyes locked on him as well. Guinan was another threat he couldn't ignore, but he intended to deal with her later. "We guide. We do not interfere," the Vorlon told the audience while trying to pierce Janeway's soul with his mind. But something blocked him and it disconcerted him. He felt power.

The Admiral wasn't letting up, keeping the pressure on the hostile Vorlon. "You will not interfere because you're afraid that you will lose, so you won't even try," Janeway said. "Your influence is not as strong as you hoped it would be, so you're going to cut your losses and run."

"Silence!"

"I am not one of your genetically manipulated pawns," Janeway countered. "Your threats don't impress me."

"What do you mean pawns?" asked G'kar. "Genetic manipulation of our races, by whom?"

Janeway smiled viciously as she glanced at an increasingly hostile Vorlon. "It's one of several dirty little secrets you're about to be made aware of." She gestured magnificently. "All of your races have been genetically altered in one form or another by the Vorlons or Shadows." She stopped and waited for her words o sink in. It took all of a second.

The entire proceedings erupted.

/\

Delenn and Neroon sat speechless as the screaming slowly died down. The Vorlons including Ambassador Kosh seemed to have shrunk slightly as one of their treasured secrets had just been exposed to the universe in general. Delenn glanced at the Vorlon leader who was now beginning to become belligerent. Next to her Neroon's face was blank but she could feel the anger and confusion rolling around within him.

And she could understand why.

For more than a thousand years there had been a connection between the Minbari and the Vorlons. Some of their technology had been given to them by the Vorlons and in some ways the felt like junior partners of the mighty and mysterious Empire. But now, that truth had been revealed. It explained so many things. The Vorlons had paid special attention to the Minbari not because they were junior partners, but because they were merely servants-pawns and counterparts to the Shadow/Drakh relations of master and slave.

The Minbari were simply game pieces for some unknown disagreement with the Shadows. Delenn had suspected. Neroon had not. If that were true, and both of them thought this likely, then they needed to ask the question 'who were they?' without the influence of the Vorlons. G'kar's question carried serious weight. What _'could'_ the Minbari have become without Vorlon influence? What had they lost? "Would the Vorlons sacrifice the Minbari?" Neroon quietly asked Delenn.

"I believe we now know the answer," she whispered back. That answer filled her with anger. Everything she was taught may well have been a lie.

"I hate them," he harshly whispered back. "They have lied to us, made us like them, and see them as gods. They spoke and we believed because they were Vorlons. We were fools."

"We were manipulated like every other race in this room except those Humans and the Klingons," she said of the Federationers. "They can see through the dark glass covering our eyes."

"I must talk to Garrett. I need to confirm this for myself." He was silent for a second. "You are aware that she and the other Federation people know of our _'divided'_ heritage."

"I have suspected," she answered after a few moments. "Garrett has chosen not to say anything. And the Vorlons must know."

"Yes," he hissed.

"What will we do about this? If the Humans chose to reveal this, our society will fall apart."

"Our society is already falling apart," he answered. "What happen when the pieces fall will determine our fate. But Delenn, we have much bigger problems. Besides, I think I choose to trust Garrett with this. For a Human she is remarkably intelligent."

"Yes," she responded. "And I must talk to the other Humans as well."

"Yes. There are questions to be answered. How is it that these Human ships can survive attacks by Shadows and we cannot?" he looked at her with deadly intent. "Our people are going to have to change and soon. I just hope in the process we will not destroy ourselves."

**USS Voyager**:

Meanwhile on the starship _Voyager_, Alyt Rannaonn took the time to marvel at the vessel as he was escorted to the medbay. The Vulcan doctor's tender mercies were sufficient for his wounds, but the Human witch who called herself Garrett wanted to make sure of his health so she requested _Voyager's_ services while at the meeting. How he hated that woman! But his promise to adhere to the conditions of the challenge was to be honored no matter what. The _Ambassador_ survived. _Blood of Saints_ was being towed back to Minbar.

Reduced to being a servant to a Human! How degrading! Personally it was his desire to kill them all (every Federationer, Federationist-whatever, and their mother) for this grave insult to his honor; but honor had to be honored, or so his own mother had taught him. It was a play on words, but one that was never fully appreciated until now. Garret was playing with him even forcing his anger sometimes, a dangerous thing to do but she relied on him to keep himself under control-and he did. Gods, he hated that smug female!

While on the ship, playing servant to the she-monster, he had the time to check out the public domain Federation data banks. There was an unbelievable wealth of data at his fingertips and it only took his imagination to acquire information on anything he wanted, not closed to him by security.

These Humans had no imagination. Why would the Federationoids call their home planet Earth like the Earthers did? They could have used Earth Two if they absolutely had to. It was confusing and made little sense to him.

Garrett had recommended an old video for him to watch concerning early use of transporters. It was a fictional movie called 'The Fly'. They called it fiction but he suspected it was a documentary of one of their great mistakes.

What in the name of the fifteen hells of Centauri did she have to make him watch that for!

He was a strong male and few things frightened him. But that movie about an unintentional genetic mixing of a Human and a fly terrified him (only Humans would think of a stupid name like that for an insect. Couldn't they have had a bit more imagination?). How could they continue such experimentation knowing what could go wrong with the least miscalculation? He'd experienced the transporter and didn't like it then. Checking historical transporter incidents within the Federation, he found something else that made his blood run cold. An earlier version of the _Enterprise_ witnessed first hand, a transporter accident. The victim's faces were blurred for purposes of privacy. But the horrible things he saw on that screen…

He would never use it again unless that murderous female ordered him to. And if he did then he would make sure he could blow his brains out at the first sign of trouble. But there was something bothering him that he couldn't ignore about these Federation Humans and the rest. Even after such a horrifying mistake, the Humans continued to refine the transporter technology instead of crushing it from existence. Their stubbornness frightened him more than joining with an insect, or perhaps forming inside a solid wall. Courage, nightmarish courage to be exact, was something these people had in abundance.

But other things occupied his mind as well, when he wasn't following Garrett around like some mindless trained animal, like the strange inter-personal relations between the crewmembers. On _Voyager_ it was even worse. He counted over a half dozen species mixing freely with one another including a, what he could only describe as, a 'First One.'

It was a rock.

A living, fast-moving rock.

It spoke.

In a distinctly feminine voice.

And it had a sense of humor. It had been amused by his first reaction to it; he had wanted to run but there was no place to go. Evidently this was a somewhat common reaction when carbon-based life forms saw one of their species. This rock-it called itself a Horta- had ancestors that lived to be as much as fifty-five to sixty thousand years old, with all but one of the species dying out every sixty thousand years or so, who becomes mother to the new, hatching generation of Horta. And it had allied itself to these Humans! First Ones sharing their lives with Humans. Stunning! He did some reading on the ancient races and discovered that there were First Ones everywhere in and around Federation space. And Federation territorial space was massive! And that forced him to ask-if the First Ones had left this region of space for the Rim, why hadn't they left from these Federation territories?

He didn't understand. That confused him even more. His studies of the Vulcans also surprised him. Apparently their history of space travel was as long or longer than the Minbari. He had to consider them one of the mature younger races, like his own and they too, associated with the Humans, even married them! It seemed that interspecies marriage was relatively commonplace in their home space. Now that was interesting, disgusting yes, but interesting. He thanked Valen that Delenn was the only one insane enough to undergo the Vorlon procedure to look and apparently act like the Humans. What would Garrett look like as a Minbari he wondered? Quickly, he forced his mind away from such horrible thoughts.

His appointment with the doctor hadn't been until six hours later and so he spent that time delving into the history of the Federation to compare it with that witch Garrett's information. What he found shocked him to the core of his being. The Federation, the Klingons and someone called the Romulus were recently at war with a group calling themselves the Dominion. He almost lost track of the time as he read and listened to unclassified accounts of that immense war. A race of shape shifters could cause untold panic among his people. And the Jem'hadar warriors being grown to fight wars for those shapeshifting creatures filled him with dread and revulsion. His people weren't prepared to encounter the likes of them.

Then the Federation's current war caught his attention. Machines against organics. It appeared that just about everybody had join forces against this new foe. He requested an image of these Cylons and seeing the huge representative, he nearly fell off his chair. The standard warrior was seven feet tall with a single laser bright revolving eye. It was basically humanoid shaped and walked around as if it were an armored vehicle but carried an archaic sword hung on its side. But that one was nothing compared to the nine foot golden warrior with the dual, blood-red eyes casually carrying an energy rifle that would put to shame many types of small cannons. And they had allies, too; a species called the Borg, half artificial, half organic, soulless abominations that absorbed all they encountered. They were collectors of worlds while the Cylons were destroyers of worlds. In the Universe's secret name, he had no idea of the terrors out there!

No wonder these Federation people had such formidable ships and equipment. Everything in their part of space was trying to kill them! This was something the Minbari Council needed to understand. These Humans could very well bring destruction to all of the surrounding sectors and they had enough trouble without bringing those 'thing's into the territory. He shivered at the thought. Federation territory was vast and as loath as he was to admit it, it made Minbari territory seem miniscule in comparison. They weren't nearly as strong has he believed a few days ago. His whole perspective was different now. Curse Garrett and her ship, too! He should have won and remained blissfully ignorant of the universe around him.

/\

One good thing was that he was allowed one aide, which now accompanied him to this ship. Lennier was a pleasant individual but even Rannaonn could see the deep undercurrents rippling just below the surface. He didn't say much. That wasn't unusual for one of the religious. But when he did speak, the Alyt took notice of it.

They arrived at the medical center and he and Delenn's spy entered followed by their escort. The room was bright and almost cheery with some type of background music playing. The music was interesting, a bit stimulating, but not as interesting as the robotic figure standing next to a young blond female Human! How did they develop such instruments? The other Human, obviously the doctor of _Voyager_ saw them, made a polite excuse and walked over to them. The Human doctor with very little hair greeted him, and he sighed. He was hoping that the doctor wasn't Human, or Vulcan for that matter. Selar was colder than Garrett's smile-except when Lennier was present. And Lennier seemed somehow eager to remain in her presence. Wisely, the Alyt kept this observation to himself, however.

"Greetings, Alyt Rannaonn. "I'm glad that you could make it. And you're on time. I didn't have to initiate a search for you. I'm impressed. Most command officers are notoriously late when it comes to physical examinations. You seem to be an exception to the rule."

"I was ordered by Captain Garrett to come," he sneered. This Humans was as haughty as the others of his species.

"I'm sure she only had your best interests in mind," the doctor said. He then proceeded to wave a small instrument over the irritated Minbari. "You're in very good health, Alyt," he pronounced. "However, I would have concerns about your children."

"I have no children," the Alyt said coldly. That bothered him. There were so few children being born all over Minbar and deep down there was a generalized fear that the Minbari people would one day become extinct before they could take their rightful place among the First Ones. However that statement had aroused his curiosity and Lennier's as well. "What do you mean by concerns?"

"As you must already know," the Federation doctor said, eagerly preparing to explain. "You have alien DNA incorporated into your own. It's Human DNA to be exact, joined to your own and although the science behind it was sufficient to produce viable children at one time, the artificial links have degraded."

Two pairs of Minbari eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. "What are you talking about?" the Alyt screamed. "There has never been any Human DNA in our blood." This doctor had insulted him most deeply and he was about to hurt him most severely because of it.

Before he could lay hands on the Human, he spoke. "There is no mistake," he said. There is Human DNA in your genetic structure. I can show you." And without waiting, he proceeded to head towards a large viewer. He punched a few buttons and the image of Minbari DNA appeared on the screen. "This is your genome. Take a look at the Chromosomal structure," he said. Since, I am aware that you're not a scientist, I'll explain in as simple of terms as I can."

The Minbari simply nodded. He'd kill the doctor later.

"This chromosome number fifteen is different from its companion. The reason why is because it's been modified as has been the sex chromosomes depicted here," he said pointing to the now prepared karyotype. If we look directly at the genetic structure we can see the modifications clearer. Notice that I have marked the Minbari DNA in blue and Human in red for easier identification. These red genes are unmistakably of Human origin. Now compare this with Human DNA."

The red genes overlapped a normal set of Human genes and matched them perfectly. Lennier's mouth almost hit the floor. Rannaonn's lips were simply thin and grew thinner by the moment.

"If we were to perform a scan of your aide here, we would probably discover similar findings. Now, the only reason that this could have occurred is if someone deliberately introduced Human DNA into your gene pool and I theorize that this is that's exactly what happened. Someone spliced your DNA with Humanity's by using this linkage sequence here." He pointed up and a set of genes on the screen changed to green color. "That color linked the red and blue genes, apparently serving as a bridge. "Apparently, this bridge was haphazardly designed because I estimate that it began to degrade after six generations. The most plausible scenario is that a Human was physically and genetically restructured to emulate your species and that is how it was probably introduced into your population. Those responsible were either ignorant, didn't do a good job, or simply didn't care about the long term effects of such a blending."

"I don't understand," the Alyt said as his temper cooled down. He now approached depression as the importance of these revelations struck him. His heart had accepted the truth but his mind hadn't caught up with it yet.

"Simply put, the more these links spread throughout your gene pool the more unstable it became. The sex chromosomes and Chromosome fifteen cross links shown here basically unravel at a critical point very early in pregnancy, maybe within forty-eight hours and the result was an increasing lower birth rate for your people. We've dealt with problems like this before and can remedy the problem, however I believe that this is a major problem for your species. If I were to take a statistical sample, I would probably find these links distributed throughout your species entire genome. Something needs to be done soon, or the Minbari will only be a memory within thirty to forty generations."

Rannaonn and Lennier were rigid. "The Minbari who was not Minbari," the Alyt heard Lennier whisper. "Valen."

"Why would the Vorlons do this?" Rannaonn moaned. And more importantly what did Delenn do to herself, he thought. It was that Vorlon machine that changed the Human into Valen and the same machine had changed Delenn into a Human likeness. He feared for her physical body. Her children with Starkiller, if any, might suffer deformities at most and sterility at least. Minbari children were too precious to suffer like that, even if they were hybrids of a race that should have been destroyed.

"Genetic engineering to produce viable offspring is relatively common now. Of course it helps if the species are relatively close. But the approach is radically different from that used by the Vorlons," the doctor said. "We consider both the short and long term complications of such procedures. You can reproduce once again without difficulty."

"You don't have the medical expertise to undo what the Vorlons have created," Rannaonn snapped.

"On the contrary, I would be surprise if I couldn't do it," the doctor answered. "With my background, this type of procedure is an inconvenience, nothing more."

Rannaonn sputtered at the doctor. His confidence was overwhelming. Could he possibly be that self-assured? Were these people that advanced? Valen's blood!

"But in order to spread the cure among the people," the doctor continued, "you may have to change your lifestyle."

"In what way?" asked Rannaonn.

"We're talking multiple wives and multiple husbands-multiple mating. I thought that you would have figured that out by now."

"I-I don't understand," Rannaonn said.

"Well," the doctor said. "Obviously you didn't. Let me enlighten you. If you want to insure a viable and healthy population, then your society will under some radical changes. Five to seven children per couple should become standard among your people. No more three year or more long-term engagements. You'll want offspring as soon as possible."

"We'd never survive," protested Lennier. "Our society would border on chaos."

"Humans handle it. Does this mean that the Minbari can't? I've read up on your culture. I'm surprise that you have the strength to mate after all of those rituals."

"Do you have children?" protested Rannaonn.

"If I were Human, I would like to."

Both Minbari were surprised, especially the Alyt. He wasn't Human. Interesting because he certainly looked and acted like one.

"I believed you to be Human. What species are you?"

"Looks can be deceiving. I am not an organic being. I began as an emergency holographic projection, but I have evolved into a full-fledged sentient life form."

Again, two sets of jaws dropped to the floor. "You're a hologram?"

"Yes."

"But you're solid and not in a holo-room!"

"That is true, I'm proud to say. Federation technology and acceptance has evolved as well. I am a full member of this crew with all of the rights that that implies."

A self-aware, intelligent computer program! A true, free, independent A.I.on their vessel! Rannaonn's body shook. It was arrogant because it had every right to be. Oh, how he hated Rachel Garrett! Why couldn't she had simply died so that he could have remained blissfully ignorant of the things going on in the universe. Now, his eyes were opened and the darkness was pushing against the doorway of his mind, forcing its way in. He could no more afford to remain smug with the knowledge of the superiority of the Minbari. Minbari superiority evaporated the instant those Federation ships made their appearance in his space. They were behind and needed to catch up quickly. They needed allies against the coming darkness. Even-even the Feds would be needed. The Grey Council was going to be in an uproar when they received his report and recommendations. They'd been stagnant for too long, held back and their very bodies poisoned by the Vorlons. Change was in the air and he hoped that his society could pick up the pieces when it came crashing done. Nothing would be the same anymore.

**_Babylon Five_** **Conference:**

"The Vorlons and Shadows have been playing a game, or maybe we should call it an experiment with all of the races in this sector of space," Janeway continued. "Have you ever wondered why there are only a few telepathic species present in each race? Have you ever wondered why everyone uses jump space and have not developed any of the dozen other types of faster than light methods? Have you wondered why you can never get a straight answer from a Vorlon? Both races are guilty of genetic manipulation, genocide and interfering with the natural development of the so-called younger races."

Janeway noticed the Vorlon shivering under its encounter suit. "You let them know," the High Vorlon accused of Lorien. Lorien merely shook his head in response. Surprised, he turned back towards his adversary. "The younger races need guidance. If not properly guided, they would develop too fast and move much farther than they should. Our path offers stability."

/\

Who are you to determine what our path is and how fast we should travel?" Sheridan retorted. "Yes, we will make mistakes and we will stumble along the way but they are ours to make. And we will learn. That is our strength and when we encounter them we will deal with it as best we can."

"You display your youth by your arrogance. You do not know what is out there," the Vorlon calmly replied. "We will be your guides, as we have always been," he pronounced with finality.

"We don't need your guidance any more."

The Vorlon Lord's iris narrowed once more. "The younger races require our help. With the presence of the Federation, your species are moving too far, and too fast. "You are not ready for what awaits in darkness."

"By your calculations, maybe we aren't, but we won't reset the clock simply to please you" Sheridan said. "We want your help," Sheridan said correcting the Vorlons earlier comment. "But we will deal with the problems when they come and we will try our best."

"You are an arrogant creature, Sheridan. These races are young, weak, and immature. You have no idea what the coming darkness will bring."

"You haven't done that much to help us in the first place," he answered. He paused to reflect for a moment. "Frankly, I don't have a clue what the next hour will bring. "But I will face it with everything I have boldly, with or without your help."

The Vorlon spoke, completely ignoring the words just uttered. "If you survive the Yonji Sinhindrea then you will spread into places that will consume you utterly, before you are ready. There are places of great beauty and unimaginable terror. We offer help, but you would reject us. When the Sinhindrea come, we will see if you can face them, children. We will leave you to your misfortunes since you do not desire to follow the advice of your betters."

/\

Guinan stood up. She had heard enough of this and as she observed the other races murmuring to themselves she knew she would have to speak up before everything fell apart. "The price you're demanding of them is too high," she snapped at the Vorlon. Instantly the creature turned to face her. "These people will learn and adapt. That is their strength and your weakness. You fear them because of what they can become, one day possibly even greater than the Vorlons. You stifle their technology because ultimately you fear them, just as the Shadows attempt to strengthen them just enough so that they will forever remain inferior to them."

"You, '_Human_'," he snapped back. "You are not what you seem to be. Your presence here incites danger. You will leave, now," the High Lord ordered coldly.

"For your information, my name is Guinan and we are not going anywhere. I suggest that you deal with it."

"Then the Vorlon Empire will rejoice in helping to expedite your departure."

Beside him two of his fellow Vorlons stepped up in support of their leader. Without fully thinking, Guinan went into a vaguely defensive posture and the Vorlons, weary of her, prepared for battle.

The Shadows, shocked by the intensity the Vorlons were exhibiting against a lone Human took a much closer look at her. This time they perceived an energy signature unlike anything they'd seen before. Ambassador Kosh took a moment to observe also. Guinan knew that he had suspected for a while. Now he knew.

To her right Picard stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. He, of course, knew the truth, but seeing it was a new experience. He was so stiff, but how she liked that man. So much potential- so much hurt. It was good that Rachel was here with him.

But glancing at Janeway, she didn't seem surprised. And no wonder; she had the stink of Q all over her. She knew what was going on. They needed to talk when this was over.


	42. Unexpected Visitations

_**Once again, to all of my readers, a heartfelt than you. I've been touched by your support. Right now I am working two projects. ATV and TWS plus I am editing another story appearing in miscelleanous (I won't say which). And I am collaborating on a horror script which we hope will prove-interesting. So I am a bit busy now. But I'm still working. As you can see this is (chapter 35 and 36 ) is really one long chapter connected and should be considered as such. I was going to post it 2 weeks apart but then I said 'naw'. So please enjoy, even the 'ol schizoid, who continues to read this despite his jealousy and contempt of it. Hopefully, he can steal a bit more for his own story.**_

_**P.S. Dont forget 'Crossroads' a ST-BG story. No war yet, but great interaction with Uhura and other secondary characters like Tigh and Boomer and Sulu. Check it out located at the BG original section of TV movies.  
**_

_**Now as I ususally say---On with the story! **_

**Chapter 35 **  
"_**Eighteen hours continued"**_  
**Unexpected Visitations **

**USS _Voyager_:**

Geordi LaForge recovered his composure quite nicely after meeting the Chief engineer of _Voyager_. The fact that she was half Klingon, sporting a name like B'Elanna Torres-Paris had thrown him slightly. He was used to Klingons not being in Starfleet and, in general, trying their best to kill him, rather than helping to upgrade Starfleet specs. He and Sonya Gomez were glad they weren't carrying weapons or he might have embarrassed himself and then he wouldn't have gotten a chance to see engineering deck in this fantastic ship. And in a short while he relaxed enough to enjoy talking with B'Elanna.

"So you know my counterpart?" he had asked her.

"Of course," B'Elanna responded. "Some of the innovations that Commander LaForge developed on _Enterprise-D_ and the _E_ are required reading now days for all first year Cadets. He's quite famous. Married now and on the fast track to becoming Captain, if he's not one already."

'_Commander and married',_ thought Geordi. "I'm glad one of us is," he said somewhat bitterly. When she looked at him, curious, (as did Lieutenant Gomez) he felt obligated to continue. "It's taken everything we have just to survive the fighting and now I see all of the things we've never had the chance to develop because of the war against the Klingons." Although his eyes were covered with his Visor, the sadness the rest of his face expressed was obvious to everyone. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me," she answered. "I've never been overly impressed with the Klingons myself. But they do have a few good points and they're not trying to kill everybody like the good old days." The look of surprise on his face was priceless. He didn't expect here to respond that way. After all, she was partially Klingon herself. She let it go and changed the subject. "When you get a chance see _Voyager's_ doctor. Our Geordi doesn't need that Visor any more and he may be able to perform the same treatment for you. Whether it is full regeneration of the optic nerves or a cybernetic implant, I don't know. But have him check it out."

That possibility made him smile more than he had since he'd arrived. Constant use of the visual enhancement aid gave him terrible headaches, something he'd gotten used to. That was the price he had to pay in order to see and he believed that this would be with him for the rest of his life. "I'm very glad for you all," he said as he looked around some more. "Zero point power core, not anti-matter; multiphasic shields, slipstream, subspace folding. I feel like an obsolete primitive."

B'Elanna almost hit him. She was a bit put off by his self-pitying attitude, and it was making her a bit defensive and irritated. It brought back too many memories of the old days on _Voyager_. "Hey, I was stuck in the Delta quadrant for seven years on an _Intrepid_ trying to follow inept Federation protocols while Vidiians, Kazon and Borg either wanted to kill, snatch our body part, steal our ship, or assimilate us. I can't tell you how many non-regulation additions we wound up with by the time we got back. What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Oh, nothing," he explained rather sheepishly. "It's just that you're so much more relaxed than your younger self."

"I have a counterpart here?" B'Elanna was shocked. "Why haven't I been introduced to her yet?"

"She's on the _Enterprise-C_. We can make a request to Captain to ask if she can to beam over a little later. But right now, I want to make sure that the _Enterprise_ is space worthy again. We took a heavy beating when the Sinhindes attacked us. Our phasers were barely effective against their shields."

"Admiral Janeway gave me the okay to give you the specs for the ablative armor generators," the woman said. "Between that and the shields, your defensive capabilities will improve dramatically. We'll have to rebuild your phaser array to accommodate the new power ratios."

"Lieutenant, will we be able to upgrade the warp drive?" Sonya asked. Warp physics was her specialty and she was salivating at the new antimatter designs compatible with the _Galaxy_ class. The _Ambassador_ would benefit as well with a warp core refit.

"If we have the time," she answered. "You're both using the older style warp engines, which has been replace by the newer, more sub-space friendly drive units. The older drives were found to damage subspace over a period time and we suffered a couple of very widespread ruptures in the alpha quadrant along established travel routes. If we're are able to upgrade the warp core and the support equipment and EPS manifolds, then replace the subspace emitters, we should be able to get you past the hyperspace warp one barrier. Together, with the multiphasic shields properly modulated and the upgraded multiscan sensors we should get the _Enterprises_ up to warp six. That's faster than our current slipstream."

"Unbelievable. We're talking about three to five light-years per second," Geordi said. People throughout engineering let out whistles at that statement. "There's no telling how far we can take this technology or in what direction it'll take. If we can integrate slipstream or subspace folding into jump space, then-"

"Then, travel to the local galaxies would just be the beginning," Sonya added. "But that's years, maybe decades down the road. All in all though, this is a very exciting time to be alive." The young woman was practically radiant thinking about the possibilities.

"Yes," B'Elanna said. "But then let's not forget that everyone's trying to kill you, so priorities first."

"Yes, Ma'am," Geordi said respectfully. He was adjusting faster than he'd first thought.

"Phasers are still going to be the standard for a long time, "B'Elanna started. "But phaser technology can't be pushed much further. So Starfleet R&D teams are developing new weapon's systems such as the iso-magnetic disruptors. They require more power at this point since the technology is still being refined, but our zero-point warp core supplies us with everything we need with power to spare. The cannons have three times the punch of the phasers and we have found them to be very effective against our enemies, the Cylons and the Borg."

Geordi nodded. "I've read some of the stats on those things. I'm glad we've never run across them."

"Yes, they are a handful," said a voice from behind. Lieutenant Paris grabbed his wife's waist and planted a kiss on her neck to the shock of the _Enterprise_ crewmen. "They adapt to everything we try so we're constantly improving our weapons systems."

"This uncouth heathen is Lieutenant Tom Paris, my husband," she said as she tried to sound sour but failing completely to convince anyone. "As I was saying," she continued while lightly elbowing her husband, "the IMD is effective but we've also gone back to some of the earlier technologies, as in projectile weapons which are more effective in dealing with the walking tin cans. The Cylon ablative armor has a refractive coating that takes phasers too long to burn through. The three seconds of concentrated phaser fire required to burn through their armor will get you killed very quickly. The updated rail guns are very effective in blowing them to hell and gone. These weapons will be useful against the Sinhindrea, since they have cybernetic armor protecting them also."

xxx

B'Elanna stood back as a Federation Marine introduced the Miller-T'voku assault combat recoilless rifle or ACRR-MT twelve Mark two.

The MACOs handed Geordi his rifle and with great relish, proceeded to detail it. "At twenty two rounds per second, with variable loads ranging from forty-four to fifty-five caliper-users choice-the ACRR-MT twelve is designed to fire neutronium coated, rhenium based armor piercing slugs, magnetically accelerated to forty-one percent light speed within three meters post ejection. Acceleration can be adjusted automatically with four presets or it can be adjusted manually to as low as three percent LS. It had a liquid boron-cooled reflex compartment and a built-in high-speed ammo replication chamber with power enough to generate two thousand rounds of ammunition. With auto-tracking with multiple target acquisition up to six individual targets, heat signature recognition, and subspace sensor location, it is one of the latest in anti-Cylon offensive weaponry. On continuous fire, it can overwhelm (PPS) personal protective shields in four seconds. It is also equipped with its own personal shield that protects its user. Shield duration is thirteen minutes on continuous cycle. The Mark one is more powerful, but it's also heavier. The Mark two gives us more flexibility and is easier to carry around.

B'Elanna waited patiently while the Major discussed every little detail of the weapon's capability to the enraptured _Enterprise_ crew. She liked the weapon itself, but she preferred the new pulse phaser pistol.

"I heard that there is a younger you on the _Ambassador_," her husband said mischievously. "The rumor is that she's a bit more feral than you are. Should be interesting to meet her, don't you think?"

"Possibly," she said thoughtfully. "She might not want to see us. She's grown up Klingon and there's a lot of hatred there. I know."

"But she's you," Tom countered. "I think she would be as curious as we are."

"Okay," she relented. "But we won't push it."

"Well, you know yourself."

"Yes, I do," she growled. "We'll see. But if she looks at you to hard then I'll hurt her," she hissed.

"Jealous of yourself?" he inquired. "Wow."

"Get out of here, Tomas. I've got a lot of work to do and unless you want to start realigning twenty year-old warp coils, be somewhere else."

"Yes Lieutenant Ma'am, woman."

As her husband quickly departed, deftly dodging her –somewhat-playful swing at him, she took a moment to try to understand what Janeway was up to. Frankly she was surprised that the Admiral would even consider giving these people complete access to their database. Yes, these people were Starfleet, but the Prime Directive still applied here.

Personally, she could have cared less about the Prime Directive in situations like this. There were times that it didn't apply. But the Admiral was a stickler for the rules and in this particular situation B'Elanna wasn't sure which way she would decide. This wasn't their universe but the Starfleeters here were their people. Here, Picard and the others had thrown the Prime Directive to the four winds and she understood exactly why they did it. They were adapting to the situation here. But what would Janeway had done she wondered? Would she have tried to stay out way of this universes' history? She laughed at that. The very question implied that history was a fixed entity and everyone knew that it was turbulent changeable ocean. Every single action produced change. This universe was blended now with the Federation-both of them. It was time to deal with it and determine their own unique future.

"When the meeting is over and those Shadow things go away," she announced to everyone, "we'll start repairs in earnest. Right now, I don't trust them as far as I can throw one of their ships. I don't like those Vorlon ships hovering over everything, either."

Everyone nodded in complete agreement.

**_Babylon Five: _**

For the native younger races witnessing the unprecedented events occurring on _Babylon Five, _there was this timeless instant when they witnessed a lone Human dared to defy the leader of the Vorlon Empire. They felt the energy of the Vorlons and fell back in fear of their power. Only the Minbari had hints of their true potential because they had felt it a thousand years before and it was imprinted upon their very genes.

There was an urge for Delenn and Neroon to bow down and worship them, but the two of them resisted because of the discovery of deeper truths. They had been tampered with by a race of old aliens, not gods and that knowledge made all the difference. But not even they could see what was occurring beyond the veil. That was reserved for those more than mortal, or those who possessed a more intimate understanding of the universe.

xxx

"_Who are you?"_ the Vorlon leader telepathically demanded of Guinan. _"Why do you force conflict with us?"_

"_My parents gave me my name, Guinan," _she said. "_Beyond that you don't need to know. I haven't forced anything on you, but you have decided attack me? I understand that you consider yourselves pre-ascended beings but there are levels that you haven't come close to yet. This lack of understanding leaves you at a disadvantage. So, if you want to continue this then I suggest that you do so. I'm a patient woman but even I have my limits so please hurry up and decide what you intend to do."_

The utter confidence in her voice slowed the leader's psychic advance. His power approached cautiously as he tried to probe the limits of her power. She pushed him and his energy reeled from the impact. But that was enough for him to learn something about his adversary.

"_You are duality_," he hissed. _"You have the energy of a First One but you are not one of the older races. You have mortality, but you are timeless. You are mortal but you are eternal, with power. You are abomination. Your Federation therefore must exist as abomination to the natural order of things. And when the time comes we will crush you and remove your filth from the universe."_

Guinan wasn't movedby that impassioned speech_. "You are an old species, worshiped by some, despised by the other older races because of your dreams of godhood and callous disregard in performing your duties as protectors of the younger races in your care. You should be improving, but you're as stagnant as the Q. You're ancient, but instead of improving you're simply growing old and brittle. Your technologies are pitifully inadequate and instead of striving to improve yourselves you strive to keep the younger races down so that they won't become a threat you and your way of thinking. Your weapons are no more advanced than when your ancient enemy first came. The Sinhindrea nearly destroyed you because you're too used to looking backwards instead of forwards. If you hadn't stopped them at the gateway, they would have overrun your defenses and this galaxy would have been a barren wasteland thousands of years ago."_

"_The Sinhindrea arrived a million years ago,"_ the Vorlon leader Kosh Ura corrected viciously.

"_So you say,"_ Guinan retorted. _"The Sinhindrea weren't as much older as in more advanced. If that were true then the older First Ones would have eliminated the threat, but they were gone by then, weren't they? **And precisely when did they leave?** As in everything else you proclaim, one has to discern your personal truth from the real truth." _Guinan was prepared to say more when two others made their presence known.

"_Leave her alone,"_ Ambassador Kosh demanded_. "The circle is complete and now irrelevant to the present. She is correct in saying that we have become stagnant. When ones such as us live so long, we become frighten of change. We have become complacent and rigid in our fear of the unknown. We are not better, simply old."_

"_You would side with this abomination against your own people?"_ asked a very surprised and very angry Kosh Ura.

"_She knows the truth of your plans,"_ another voice said. _"The other Federation leader knows as well."_

"_You let them know,"_ Kosh Ura snapped at his Ambassador. _"You let them know."_

"_That we planned to destroy every planet that the Shadows influenced regardless of the innocent life present to satisfy our need to be proven correct?"_ the ambassador asked. "_To Guinan, yes." _

"_The Admiral has other resources to rely upon," _Lorien added. _"The Vorlon and the Shadows have lost their way and have become the very things that you were charged to defend against. I have warned you before Kosh Ura. Interfere with this one,"_ he said point towards Guinan, _"and you will lose. Harm Admiral Janeway and your entire race will suffer. Choose carefully,"_ he cautioned.

Almost overflowing with anger, the leader withdrew his defenses_. "Guinan, if that is what you are truly called, there will be a reckoning,"_ he swore.

"_I'm impressed,"_ she chided. _"This is the first time I've seen a frightened Vorlon. It's quite refreshing."_

Respectful of Lorien, the Vorlon leader withdrew into himself, desperately trying to keep his growing anger under control.

There were several moments when the Admiral felt that things had gotten out of control with the Vorlons openly threatening Guinan. She thought she would have to intervene but the instant passed. However, she couldn't help feeling that something important had taken place. The event reminded her of the talks with Q. To her relief, the Vorlons had backed off and Guinan appeared more relaxed now.

The tension however was still there and it appeared to her that it was steadily growing. The others in the room had noticed as well. The two Minbari seemed to almost faint from mental exhaustion. She'd ask Guinan what actually happened later. But for now, she needed to address the Shadows.

"With respect to the Shadow leader," she started. "Your plans are flawed. We are within days of curing the plague you have so callously infected Earth with." The Shadows present nearly faded from view. They were shocked and angry and none of them doubted the strange Human Admiral's claim for an instant. "If we can cure this nanite infestation in a matter of days, how long would it take for the Sinhindrea to do the same thing? They are cybernetic organisms who are easily capable of defeating your plague. You would have sacrificed the lives of an entire population for nothing."

"That is not for you to decide," the Shadow leader said. "We are doing what is best for the galaxy. They will threaten even your Federation. Earth's sacrifice would gain everyone valuable time."

"To do what?" she asked. "Run?"

"There must be time to regroup," the Shadow explained as if speaking to a child. "You are technologically advanced but you are still children, unable to understand such things that are above your comprehension. Humans are targeted for destruction by the Sinhindrea. Your arrogant displays of bravado have doomed your species."

"Mankind has always been on the edge," Janeway said. "But we do find ways and we survive and prosper. We've made countless numbers of mistakes but Humans always learn from them and adapt. Can you say the same?"

"Our mistake was in not finding you," the Shadow Lord retorted. "This is not about us, Child. We have traveled the stars for a million years. Our knowledge is infinite and our ways are not yours. Our understanding is beyond anything your feeble minds could possibly grasp."

"Yet, here you are discussing with us mere mortals on how to proceed against a common enemy. I understand that the Sinhindrea are older than the Vorlon race. Does that make them more intelligent than either of you?"

Both Vorlons and Shadows turned their full attention on this arrogant waste of flesh. But to the Shadow Lord's surprise, it was one of her own entourage that spoke up first.

"We will find your Federation of things and eliminate them from existence," the male Shadow subordinate said. His voice was colder than anything any mortal had ever heard and everyone shrank away-

Including the Shadow Lord. Was it possible?

"We will feast on your entrails until we rupture. Your worlds will be ours."

"Who are you?" the Shadow Lord heard the Vorlons say."

"What do you want?" the leader heard himself say found herself saying.

The other shadow shivered. "I am enthralled," he shrieked, gaining temporary regaining back his control. "The dreams of the dark city…I-" His eyes glowed as it once more lost control. "Flee while you can as far as you can for we are coming and we will feast on Vorlon flesh."

"Sinhindrea!" the Shadow lord said, astonished. She had suspected that some of her people had been touched by that evil. But her closest, most treasured advisor had been compromised by the Yongi-at this distance! The Shadow ability for telepathy had only enhanced the enemy's ability to spy on them.

"Surrender and die," the possessed Shadow said. "Or resist, and die screaming. We care not which."

"Don't you mean surrender or die?" the leader heard the Narn representative say.

That being had a proclivity to speak out at exactly the wrong time. But for the most part she ignored the caustic remark. There were more important things to be concerned about. The Lord could feel the waves of pure fear emanating from the Vorlons, something it had never experience from her traditional enemies. The younger races were experiencing fear as well but there was something else rising past that fear, a defiance coming from the Humans, the Minbari, the Klingons, and surprisingly, the Narn representatives. Mollari sat there frozen but even he seemed to be shaking off the fright, preparing himself for battle.

And in that instant the Shadow Lord was overjoyed. The ages-long contest between the Vorlons and Shadows had been decided at this exact moment and his people were victorious! Conflict did indeed make the young ones stronger in their minds if nothing else. And these Young ones were becoming strong.

However, this victory over the Vorlons was souring quickly as it realized that her own fear was NOT subsiding and instead panic was trying to take control of her soul. And she felt disgusted, weak with the revelation. She wanted to take her people and run away just as the Human female had suggested. Paralyzed, the Lord hesitated a moment too long and her companion moved quickly towards the Human ambassador.

"We know where you are!" it screamed. "We will destroy you all; decimate your Federation, the Humans here, your allies, your enemies, everything will suffer for what you have done!" She was the strongest of the younger ones here and needed to be the first to die. And before anyone could move, the Shadow leap at Guinan, every natural weapon bared to rend and kill the first of the Humans that denied the Sinhindrea their gate.

_**USS Voyager**:_

The room assigned to Alyt Rannaonn was as luxurious as anything he'd ever experienced onboard a space ship. These Humans had done their homework well. The room was a perfect replication of a Minbari luxury suite right down to the cool, moist temperature favored by his people. Never in his life had he felt as uncomfortable as he did now. His unwavering absolute certainty had pushed him off a very high cliff.

"Water," he demanded. The replicator activated and a glass of pure, clear water formed before his eyes. He went blank for a second as he connected the replicator's function to transporter technology. He snatched the glass from the cubicle and viciously gulped it down. He stared at the room coldly. Even the design of the Minbari bed was perfect. The _Ambassador_ was an advanced vessel, but _Voyager_ was something else. It was a generation or more ahead of Garrett's ship and the implications were frightening. No wonder Alyt Menroi was so enamored with the Federation, insisting that the Minbari open unrestricted relations with them. And no wonder Shai Alyt Neroon was so reluctant to do so. These people were so adaptable that it was frightening. He was silent contemplating the glass in front of him for a long time. Finally, he spoke to the other Minbari in the room with him. "What do you think of all of this, Lennier?"

The young Minbari paused momentarily. "I believe it is a faithful recreation of a Minbari suite. Admiral Janeway and Captain Chakotay spared no expense in order to make us comfortable."

Rannaonn just looked at him. As a member of the religious caste, Lennier was very adept at avoiding answers when he wanted to. Nevertheless he did have a point and a change in direction would be good for the Alyt for the moment. "This room is satisfactory," he said finally and with a bit of regret. He wished it was less perfect. "If this were a Minbari vessel, I doubt we could improve upon the accommodations. But that is the very point that disturbs me," he added. "It would not have even entered our minds to recreate alien accommodations for another race. After all, we're the best at everything," he answered sarcastically. "And naturally we expect that they should be more than satisfied with what we have to offer. Our people are not really concerned with others. We are an island unto ourselves is the popular Earther phrase. But these Humans are different. They're so comfortable and well established with whom they are that they can devote time and effort to consider the comfort of others. So again I ask, what do you think of all of this, Lennier?"

"I think that the universe has gotten bigger," Lennier answered carefully. Or, our eyes have been opened a little bit more."

"I-I find myself overwhelmed," Rannaonn admitted. His voice was higher than usual and just for a moment he worried about his sanity. Evidently Lennier was also concerned as his answers were so carefully crafted to be as neutral as possible given the circumstances and company. "I have been humiliated, insulted, my ship-my pride was found to be antiquated against a Federation ship smaller than this one, built by Humans and other races working together. Everything I have believed has been uprooted, changed, and corrupted into something that I can no longer recognize. This replicator," he said, pointing at the empty glass," is faster, more efficient than the ones on _Babylon Five_. If that is not the summation of Humanity I don't know what is. The Earthers are the same. They are barbarians, but they are growing just like their cousins. We can see it, if we just look below the surface."

"Captain Sheridan…"

"…And Starkiller?" the Alyt finished. Again Lennier's eyes were filled with caution. "Do not concern yourself Lennier. That's over, like so many other things. I am becoming convinced that Delenn is far wiser than I gave her credit for," he said, then added. "But, she is not for you." He was rewarded by the shock on Lennier's face.

"Satai Delenn is the best of us," he said coming to her defense and trying to of course, change the subject. "She has sacrificed everything to help our people. She deserves our full support."

"In light of the present circumstances, I fully agree with you," Rannaonn responded with a wink. "She trusts you enough to have you spy on me. I should feel honored. But your feelings for her will go unrequited and for a young Minbari that is a fate worse than death."

"With respect Alyt," Lennier nearly growled. "We should not be having this conversation. My life and feelings are my own."

'_Ah, he admitted it!'_ "Not anymore. We've opened a door to a new universe. True, it's a frightening door, one the Vorlons had locked us away from. They've genetically engineered our people for their own purposes! The Vorlons have poisoned us, literally; brought us towards extinction for their own purposes and we still think of them as gods. That must change; all of us must change," he reiterated. "As for me, telling you to forget Delenn is a waste of speech. But I suggest you turn your direction towards another." Then he smiled mischievously. "There is a certain Vulcan female that you might find interesting."

Lennier stepped back as if slapped, stunned by Rannaonn's analysis of the situation. "You've changed."

"Water," the Alyt said, speaking instead to the replicator and ignoring Lennier's comment. Another tall glass of water formed inside the replicator. He stared at it, swirling the fluid around ever so slowly. Tasting it, he decided he liked it and swiftly emptied the glass. "Our people are not very flexible but things will be different soon. It's that witch, Garrett's fault. She has contaminated me with her truths. And I will make sure that I spread this contamination to Neroon and the others so that they may be properly infected as I have been. Oh, yes. Garrett has much to answer for. We will erect a statue in her honor, and then…and then we will take great pleasure in promptly blowing it up," he laughed. "I claim the honor of pressing the button. And to answer you, yes I have change. Me-who would have imagined it? I came here to force the Federationers to share their shield technology. Instead they've shared themselves and I can never be the same again. No Minbari can. Lennier, I have heard the rumors that Minbari souls have been placed among the Humans. With all of the wonders I have seen, even I don't know if I believe that is possible. But I will explore those possibilities with my eyes open this time."

"Finally you have seen the light," a voice boomed in perfect Minbari.

Swiftly both Minbari males searched for the owner of the voice. They discovered the image of a holographic Minbari male standing behind them.

"I've heard the Humans call us bone-heads for many years, now and for many years I have contemplated ways of getting even with their callous insults, but I must confess that they do have a point-in certain respects." The hologram looked directly at them. "Forgive my crude manners. I am Draal."

"The Draal?" exclaimed Rannaonn. "I believed you long dead."

"Not hardly," Draal retorted. "Although watching my people acting like wayward children, sometimes I wish I were."

"How are you doing this?"

"I am using a technology you are currently unfamiliar with," Draal answered. "With it, I have explored the universe and beyond. Watching the multiverse is a very humbling experience. I have searched the different histories our people and I have felt ashamed by what I have seen. You wouldn't believe how many times our people have ruined our world going against the Humans, especially the Federation and other Human-based organizations because of a callous mistake. Take it from me; all Humans are not as weak as Earth Alliance. What I've seen has been enough to make me grow a full head of hair." He shivered at the thought of having to comb hair like Sheridan and Delenn. He had studied Delenn carefully as she struggled with her mane in those first few weeks. Hair was way too much trouble to handle.

"I don't have much time," he continued. "_Voyager's_ sensors are magnificent. It took me days to discover how to override their scans in order to speak to you privately and I can only achieve this minor miracle for a few minutes at most. I wanted to say that you two, and Neroon, and Delenn must carry the hopes for the future of Minbari and our people. Together you must pull our people together and push us into the future with the Humans-all of them. Earth Alliance will soon fall and give way to something better but you must help them as they can help us. A Minbari-Human Alliance could very well herald a new age in the galaxy."

Rannaonn merely grunted. "Nothing surprises me anymore."

"Is that what you believe? Come visit me and we will grow hair together," Draal laughed. "But become a champion for the cause of unity," the hologram smiled. "This does not mean that we shouldn't occasionally kick mankinds behind to push him in the right direction. However we must also check ourselves, or we'll fall back into our old patterns."

The room shook throwing both Minbari to the floor. And the room continued shaking.

"We're under attack," both of them said at the same time as alarms began blaring.

"I must go," Draal said. "Minbari, Humans and the others must come together quickly or we will not survive the Sinhindrea. And there are others coming back."

"Who is coming back? What do you mean?"

"First Ones who have gone mad, and now portray themselves as gods. There is a Human here that can make their dreams a reality if they capture him. We will talk more if we survive." The hologram winked and was gone.

"Why the Humans?" Rannaonn wondered out loud, but Draal wasn't there to answer him.

The two Minbari felt the ship's engines throbbing as the room continued shaking.


	43. Blackmail is a Wonderful Thing

**Chapter 36**  
"_**Eighteen hours continued"  
**_**Blackmail is a wonderful thing  
**

**  
**

_**USS Voyager:**_

"Captain," Tuvok said. "Shields have just activated."

A second later, _Voyager_ was rocked by a full forced shadow cutting beam focused directly at the bridge. The starship was moving in reverse picking up speed but a one-point two kilometer long Shadow battlecrab was keeping pace, continuing to focus its weapon on the bridge.

One moment, the fleets of the so-called younger races were inactive and keeping their distance from the Vorlon and Shadow fleets, and the next, ten of the Shadow vessels were moving, attacking other shadow warships while two headed directly for _Babylon Five_. Immediately, the other Shadow vessels gave chase firing on the attackers, slashing at one another in an orgy of violence. Two of the organic vessels turned to attack _Voyager_ and _Ambassador_.

The _Ambassador_, commanded by Commander Castillo, had detected the energy buildup and the ship automatically activated shields. The slashing attack dropped their shields to forty percent before the starship responded with phasers tuned to inflict as much damage to Shadow bioarmor as possible. Deep gashes gorged into the Shadow marred the translucent almost surface of the ship and the vessel screamed. _Ambassador_ was at half impulse firing and evading beam attacks while she was being tracked by the maddened shadow vessel. The Klingon vessel _Azetbur_ began to move preparing to assist the _Ambassador_.

_Voyager_ was slower to respond to the unexpected attack, but she was quickly outrunning the Battlecrab. But the alien's slasher beam wasn't letting up.

"Shields at eighty percent…seventy-three percent…sixty-one percent…"

The Shadow vessel screamed its fury at the retreating ship.

"Lock phasers," Chakotay yelled.

"Phasers locked."

"Fire."

Two other Shadow warships pursuing the first one simply stopped in their tracks as the Federation ships phasers hit the offending battle crab and cleanly cut it in half. The ship didn't even have time enough to emit a death-scream as the two halves begin to crumble, leaving ichor and already dead crew to disintegrate in the vacuum of space. Not even a Vorlon battleship had ever destroyed one of their kind so easily, and for a moment, both ship's crews hesitated as they tried to decide whether _Voyager_ was the bigger threat than the traitors. After a few moments they both turned to aid their brethren and sisters against the betrayers.

"Look's like they've decided to have a civil war," Tom said as he burst onto the bridge to replace the night-watch navigator.

That thought had cross Chakotay's mind as well. Several of the spiderships had damaged or destroyed some of their own before the others pounced on them. The Vorlons had done nothing except move out of the way of the running battle. Quickly checking _Ambassador_, he saw that the Klingons were using their disruptors to slice arms off of the attacking ship before the _Ambassador_ phaser beam finished it off.

"Tom, _Babylon Five_."

"In range in five seconds, Captain."

Chakotay looked at Tuvok and grimaced. That would just enough time to be too late.

xxx

An _Omega_ and a _Sharlin_ were both shredded by energy beams before they could even began to respond by the first of two Shadow battle crabs targeting mammoth space station. Hundreds of crafts of all descriptions began fleeing the area as both attacker and defender weapons spewed forth death in every direction. Purplish beams at full power opened up on the station before any of the other ships could come to its aid. At that power and range, the Earth Alliance space station would be converted into so much debris in a matter of moments.

Instead, the beams slammed into an invisible bubble surrounding and protecting the station. The newly installed shields near the command center, glowing brightly, dissipating the beams heat and energy, were already paying for themselves. Other than a slight vibration, the station itself barely registered the hit. Surprised by the shields, the Shadows lingered a couple of seconds too long and were instantly destroyed by weapons from multiple vectors. Two more shadows flew past _B5's _bridge, heading back for their assigned stations. The other renegade Shadow vessels had been destroyed by their own kind and these ships were uncompromised.

The vessels slowly rejoined the remains of the fleet, suddenly wary of each other. Seventeen ships, ten of which were compromised had been destroyed. Thirty ships from various other races had been destroyed by the enslaved battlecrabs and their free counterparts who apparently cared little as to what were in their way while they targeted and shot at one another.

Forty three Shadow crews suddenly felt unsure around each other. They were also wary of the new Federation vessel that carried enough firepower to destroy top-of-the-line Shadow battle crabs with impunity. But at this point they had no idea as to what their next course of action would be.

**_Babylon Five _Conference room**:

Before anyone could move, the Shadow leap at Guinan, every natural weapon bared to rend and kill one of the Humans that denied the Sinhindrea their gate. Guinan was already protecting herself, her hands raised to fend off the attack. There was a flash bright enough to blind everyone and the Shadow was thrown back screaming. The alien thrashed incoherently before it died a moment later. Guinan looked pale, at once horrified and determined as she watched the alien' death throes. Quickly, she turned to and astonished ambassador Kosh.

"Thank you, Ambassador Kosh for your protection," she said to him loudly enough for everyone to hear.

His iris opened in surprise, then narrowed, then opened again. He bowed. "Yes," he acknowledged. That one word conveyed to her everything she'd hoped for.

With that acknowledgement, he had agreed to cover up her actions by taking the credit for the Shadow's death. The younger ones would assume that it was he that had saved her. Her power was incredible, far more than he had expected. Their future conversations were about to become a lot more interesting than they already were.

As surprised as he was however, his leader had been terrified by the events that had just transpired. _Babylon Five_ had just been attacked by the Shadows while he was on the station essentially defenseless. Kosh had defied him by agreeing and supporting Guinan. The Shadow leadership had been compromised by the ancient enemy who now knew everything that had transpired at the conference. The one called Guinan had vanquished a matured Shadow lord with ease. And the reports concerning _Voyager_ and the other alien ship called the _Azetbur_ frightened him even more. No child race should posse power enough to challenge First Ones. When that occurred, the young ones had to be culled because they always resisted the instructions of their elders and that could never be tolerated.

Events couldn't be seen now and he like every other Vorlon was terrified of the unknown. The younger races were in a state of near-panic and were only now just calming down. He understood that because he had been frightened himself. The Federation shields were impressive and he was glad they had been installed. This station was a magnet for trouble and needed all of the help it could get. The Vorlon laughed as he realized that even he thought of the station as a living entity.

Sheridan, more and more a calming influence, informed every one of the events that had occurred and had assured them that the station was safe and secured. Many of the crewmen of the Human and Minbari ships destroyed were saved by the transporters of _Babylon Five_ and the Federation ships.

Kosh found it reassuring that even the famous John Sheridan believed in Guinan's ruse, saving a lot of unwanted questions for the future. However there were two who were suspicious. The Admiral's eyes betrayed her. Picard's stony face betrayed him. They were both aware of what Guinan was but each had chosen to keep her secret. Kosh approved their loyalty and respect. All around him, existence had become unpredictable and ancient, ancient Kosh reveled in it like a child discovering something new for the first time.

The Shadow lord approached the podium once more and did something no being had ever seen before. She bowed her head and apologized, to the shock of everyone. "The enemy has more of a hold than we had anticipated. My fleet will do nothing to harm this station at this time. Those that had sought to disrupt our meeting have been dealt with, "she added. There was so much sorrow at the loss of her associate that each person in the room could feel it. "The matter is over." Then she turned to face the Vorlon called Kosh Ura_. "Our dispute is over,"_ she told him telepathically. "_We have won the great debate. Strife builds strength. It is so obvious now that even a Vorlon can see it."_

"_The dispute has not yet been decided,"_ Kosh Ura announced in righteous fury.

"_Yes it is,"_ ordered a third voice. _"The Shadows are correct, Strife does build strength and character,"_ Guinan said_. "But order controls mindless chaos, focuses it so that it can be useful. Both of them are needed so that life can continue. Like gravity, it's a fundamental law of the universe, something both of you ancient races should have remembered. But you were too stubborn to admit the truth so you've allowed billions to die in your pettiness just to determine whose flawed theory was right. You should have helped them to advanced, to improve, but Pakleds have more common sense than the two of you."_

A fourth voice entered into the conversation. _"Guinan has spoken,"_ said Lorien. "_This pointless contest and your bickering will come to an end-now. You will make amends and help the younger races with all of the resources you have available to you."_

"_Lorien,"_ said the Shadow Lord. "_With respect, you are the first of the First Ones, the oldest of us all. But we will not fight the Sinhindrea for these young ones. Our plans are ruined because of the 'other' humans and we choose to go to the Rim. This galaxy no longer needs us and we will join the others. We will no longer be alone."_

"_We will continue our journey to the rim as well,"_ the Vorlon leader announced. _"Let the Sinhindrea also destroy the Federation. The younger races have rejected us. The consequences of their actions are on their own heads. "_

"_Agreed. They have sown their own seeds of destruction. Let it consume them wherever they are."_

"_No,"_ said Lorien very pleasantly. "_You will not go to the Rim and abandon your responsibilities you were entrusted with. If you do go, my message to the others will be not to let you and the others who journey there even now, continue on without my permission. You will never join the others_."

Both leaders gasped in shock, horror and growing anger against the eldest being in universe.

"_We have always revered you,"_ the Shadow lord said to Lorien. _"But we cannot prevail against the aliens. It is the Vorlon's fault. They should be the ones to stay and die for the younger races they have corrupted."_

"_Do you know what lies at the Rim?"_ asked Lorien. Their combined silence lasted for several moments. "_There is a place," _he continued_. "A rift where this universe ends and something glorious beyond imagination begins. The journey there is only just the beginning. Crossing the veil starts the new existence."_

"_Sounds interesting,"_ Guinan muttered. _"It's a shame that you won't be there for the ride."_

Both leaders glared vehemently at her.

But Lorien ignored them and turned to Guinan. He spoke to here specifically but the telepathic voice was loud enough for the Vorlon and Shadows to clearly 'hear' his words. "_The enthralled Shadows were ordered to destroy this station, effectively destroying the combined leadership of all of the races that could oppose them in any way. They also were hoping to destroy me as well. I am an unknown factor to them. And unknown factors have a tendency to get in the way. When _Voyager_ found me, the ancient enemies of the Vorlons were trying to kill me. That, they discovered, was somewhat more difficult than they had anticipated. _Voyager's_ minefield has proven formidable and they have been unable to break through in either direction, but that obstacle can't last much longer. They fear Humanity and anything that species has touched because of their potential for creating things that can destroy their species. They are breeding and they are building. As things are, the younger races everywhere will have no chance unless the Vorlons, Shadows and the other First Ones still present come to the forefront. And they will because this will be their payment for the damage they have done in my name and in the name of this galaxy. The Shadows have worshiped me because of my age. I let them and that was my mistake. The Vorlons thought of me as the personification of order, and I let them. That was also my mistake. It is time for all of us to make amends, starting now."_

Lorien turned to Captain Sheridan. "We have more guests arriving. Please grant them access.

xxx

In CnC, Captain Sandra Hiroshi simply shook her head. Captain Laurel Takashima eyebrows were raised. Commander Susan Ivanova simply stared out of the window at the mess floating outside.

"When the Vorlons came for Captain Sinclair and were threatening to kill everyone on the station, I thought that was as bad at it could get," Takashima said.

"I thought that when my ship was burning and I had given the order to crash into one of EarthForce's own, '_that_' was as bad as it could get," Hiroshi said.

"Neither one of you have been here long enough," Ivanova said. "Things always get worse."

The three women continued to stare outside trying to take in the enormity of it all. Dozens of ships had been destroyed. Scores of refugee ships were begging to come onboard, EarthForce twitched on one side, the Centauri fidgeted on the other. Vorlons shadowing Shadows, Shadows shooting at one another, Federation ships filled with Humans carrying technology that was the envy of everybody. And the Minbari were circling like vultures waiting for something to happen.

"Ladies," Hiroshi announced. "This is the reason why our hair grows grey before its time."

"And we volunteered for this crap," Takashima added sarcastically.

"Yep."

"Here we go again. _Babylon Five_ control to alien vessel," Hiroshi said. "You are not cleared to enter the docking bay. I repeat, do not approach the docking bay. You will be escorted from the area if you continue on your present vector."

Comms lit up with screeching sounds.

"We are in need! Please help our brood!" The translator given to them by the Feds worked its magic once more.

"It's the insect aliens again," Hiroshi said. "The Sinhindrea wiped out their entire species. It's only a few thousand of them left. We can't let them in. If we do everyone's going to want to come in and we won' be able to handle them all."

"Jumpgate's opening Ma'am."

"Who is it?"

"We don't know for certain," Lieutenant Yu responded. "We've been tracking them but their signal is somehow being distorted."

"Order Green squadron to met 'em. A _Sharlin_ will back them up."

Thirty small one man vessels jumped into _Babylon Five_ space.

"Wonderful," moaned Susan.

"Who are they?" Takashima asked.

"They're called Soul Hunters. They collect souls, if you can believe in such things."

"You've got to be kidding," Hiroshi announced, convinced of the absurdity of her statement.

"I wish," the Commander retorted. "_Babylon Five_ to Soul Hunters group, please state your intentions."

"We're receiving a communiqué."

Onscreen a bald-headed humanoid with a large jewel implanted in the middle of his forehead appeared. He was pale and seemed very uncomfortable speaking to the Commander. "The members of my sect have come here ask that we are allowed to participate in the conference," he said quickly. Clearly he was expecting a terse reply. His people were reviled across the galaxy as spirit-thieves. And many were killed outright as they performed what they considered their sacred duty. There were many who didn't believe in their holy cause but those who did, feared them greatly. Those who didn't, didn't want anything to do with them. They were outcastes dedicated to a holy mission.

"The last time one of your people came here, he tried to kill ambassador Delenn. The Minbari didn't take that lightly."

"Our brother, he was deranged," the Soul Hunter answered. "The loss of Dukhat's soul unbalanced him. But he acted alone without the consent of our sect. Despite the rumors, we do not collect from the living." The Minbari were the only race ever to have resisted the combined might of the Soul Hunters. The sect had tried to save Dukhat's soul, to preserve it forever. The Minbari thought otherwise and his soul was lost to the universe. Such a waste was considered an atrocity and there was bitterness on both sides. That could have led to war, but the Minbari were more upset with the Earthers at the time… "The scent of dead is overwhelming. We are offering our services to help stop the slaughter."

"I'll have to ask Captain Sheridan. Please wait." Susan cut communications and then snarled. "I am sorry, but those people give me the creeps. And I've only me one of them."

Sheridan's response didn't surprise her in the least. She sighed, then re-established communications. To the Soul Hunters," she said slowly. "One of you will be allowed to dock, the rest of you please move to an area six thousand kilometers away from the station at the coordinates I am transmitting to you. This way you won't scare our guests."

"We will do as you say," responded the Soul Hunter. His ship began to move towards the station followed by a _Sharlin_. The rest moved off without protest.

"Just another day at _Babylon Five_, the most beloved station in the galaxy," muttered Susan.

"And they said this station wouldn't survive its first year," Sandra said. "What does Las Vegas know?"

"We need a drink or five" said Takashima. "When you're off-duty, come and get me. I'm buying."

"Fine by us, but none of that synthehol stuff. I want the real thing."

"Absolutely."

"Deal," Sandra said. "Unless the station blows up, I'll see you at nine-hundred hours."

"By your command."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's just something I heard Thomas Riker say once and its stuck with me," Susan answered. "You know, I don't understand them. It's like William hates his brother. But they're both so much alike that I have trouble telling them apart."

"Men."

"Don't get me started. You know Geordi is totally smitten with _Ambassador's_ junior engineer. Sonya won't give him the time of day. Now, don't get me wrong, she likes him, but the man is about as romantic as a brick. He wouldn't know what to do with a woman if she came up and bit him where the sun don't shine."

Well, Garibaldi's doing pretty good with Deanna, but I don't know how that's going to work. He went into a funk when Mars was bombed by those aliens. There was someone there, I think. He hasn't said much, but I can tell."

"What about Ben?" Laurel whispered. "The man is a hunk, with that bald head and dark brown eyes. The man's so layered it would take years to understand him. I could deal with that."

"You mean Captain Sisko?" Sandra asked.

"Oh, yes," Laurel confirmed. Captain Sisko."

"He seems-I don't know-distant."

"It's a lot of grief there," Laurel responded. "I'll have to check him out a bit more before I decide if he's worth it."

"You may have some competition. There's a EarthForce navigator that he's been asking about."

"Hummph."

"Hey, I want to know what's happening with Corwin and that Klingon woman," whispered Sandra.

"Talk about freaky. Now '_that'_…"


	44. Chapter 36 A

_Hey everyone. I am posting this small snippet to let you know that I'm still working on it. As some of you know, I have promised a double 'Veneer' so I have been working on that for a while. But I have also promised myself a short vacation from writing for two weeks which ends on the 8th of July. To that extent here is a small portion of the upcoming TWS chapter 38 as I have done on that 'other website' It's a small post but I hope that you will enjoy it. _

_**Stone Cold:** This is a long story, I will admit. I also never intended it to be as long as it is however…what can I say? _

_**Anon:** Spell checkers are somewhat untrustworthy technologies. However, we use what we have to. As I have said earlier, this is version 1 and things will be corrected when we sit down and go thought this story with a fine-tooth comb that will be presented as version 2. But first we have to get both stories down on paper. _

_More on this chapter later which I will probably call chapter 36B_

**Chapter 36 fan fiction dot net- posting only)**

"_**(Eighteen Hours concluded-Part one)"**_

_**Lotna star system:**_

**Two months ago**

The Kor Lyon Republic, once home to four billion individuals inhabiting a total of four star systems, now existed only in the intimate memories of less than two thousand souls that managed to escape a slaughter they could barely comprehend. When the first attacks started and the futility of the Republic's ability to resist the invaders revealed, dozens of ships filled with politically connected and influential officials and their families fled their homes and headed directly to the Vree homeworld. Those who remained sent reports as long as they were able to. Once safe, the survivors told their stories to a terrified Vree military. The Sinhindrea were on the move.

The small destroyer-sized Republic ships were no match for the alien fighters equipped with energy shields, let alone the huge glowing mother ships that filled the skies of Kor-Lya. Planetary defenses were all but useless against what the survivors would later call the Hordes. The homeworld defenses fell in less than a day. Dozens of the horde ships descended onto their world near the larger population centers and hundreds of multi-tentacled creatures swarmed into the cities, slaughtering and devouring every sentient being that moved. Hand weapons and small arms fire were all but useless against the cybernetic organisms that ignored the injuries in their obsessive need to feed. In those first few hours, a sixteenth of the population were consumed alive.

Evidently these Sinhindrea preferred their food fresh.

Scores of the huge alien transport ships arrived and another type of creature emerged, much larger and naturally armored, and those creatures began to round up the remaining population to be transported to Z'ha'dum as nourishment for the young ones. Within a month, the planet's resources were being ravished in order to build ships in preparation for the swarming. What was unknown by the people of the doomed Republic at the time of the 'great slaughter' was that these new aliens were merely adult versions of the smaller squid-like invaders.

Those details would be discovered in the future.

_**Cooke star system-Earth Alliance:**_

**Now**

Cooke III colony was gone, the small space station obliterated with all hands, the fleeing civilians butchered and their remains consumed as an afterthought. Cook II, a small but growing colony located on the fourth world of the system had been scorched clean of life. Finally, Cooke I the first and largest Human colony in the system, although viciously attacked had survivors, but not that many. The enemy was more interested in taking out the power stations and communications array than wiping out the last remnants of the colony.

And they had also been interested in destroying the jumpgate. The Cooke jump gate was just another one in a series of jump gates in this region of space destroyed by the Sinhindrea. Navigation was becoming a serious pain as the entire system had to realign itself every time one of them was destroyed.

**EA shadow _Omega_ destroyer _Papros: _**

Captain Charlotte Clark could only imagine the numbers of ships lost in the vulgarities of hyperspace because of these cowardly actions. This was of course exactly what the Sinhindrea wanted, confusion since they were not dependent on jumpspace as a source of FTL travel. She and her crew knew that they had attacked the Centauri, and recently Earth, just after the Drakh assault. Things were appalling at Earth and at this point there was no going back there for refugees. _Babylon Five_ was packed with refugees from places she'd never even heard of. The Federation had at least three more ships there and at last report the Shadows and Vorlons fleets were orbiting the station. If this entire situation wasn't so potentially explosive, she would have thought it hilarious. No doubt her cousin Morgan would be having multiple stokes over what was happening there; if he wasn't already dead. News from home had been dire and she was honestly at somewhat of a lost as to what to do. EarthForce had wanted her to stay where she was, no doubt because she was Morgan's cousin and many of them wanted nothing to do with her. She's seen too much and had way too much information on too many of the officials during this time of crisis. Those same people wanted her as far away as possible while they brushed the political crap under the proverbial rug. Oh yes, she thought. The political ramifications were going to be a nightmare to come home to, if Earth survived its current crisis.

But the Captain had a lot more immediate problems to be concerned about than her political future. Her Shadow _Omega_, the first vessel out of the docks and begun to show signs that the synthetic-organic material was eating into her ship at a much faster rated than her engineer's previous estimates. She and her crew had noticed small signs that all was not well months ago, as power relays burned out and several members of her crew began suffering nightmares and unexplained nose bleeds. Garrett had informed her some time ago that her ship was a deathtrap waiting to happen, but no one had anticipated what had happened barely a day after they arrived in the system. The Starfleeters had transmitted updated data to her that her ship was '_environmentally unfriendly'_ to all types of organic life, with chilling detail. Her crew's health hadn't been the best for the past few weeks and things had gotten much worse in the past few days, which confirmed the data given her. Her ship now suffered a series of major cascade systems failures. The pseudo-shadow technology integrated into '_her'_ vesselwas starting to fall apart.

Six hours ago, a portion of engineering had to be abandoned when the crew found what appeared to be blackish-mode growing eating into the internal bulkheads of the ship. A couple of the engineers saw the fungus-like growth, not unlike some form of exotic mushroom, sprouting from the protruding shadow material. By all of the laws that they knew of, this was impossible since the Shadow material was a synthetic approximation -as far as they had been told. But the material had been 'grown' and continued to grow in spite of EarthDomes' insistence that it was simply a composite they'd created back-engineering what little that they could understand of the Shadow tech.

"Well, somebody lied," she said harshly after her engineering crew told her what was happening. And that was the truth in a nutshell.

Despite the secrecy of R&D, she was a Clark and information flowed her way, sent by informants hedging their bets, putting themselves in her good graces in case the President should somehow recover his powerbase. The growths had produced spores which spread throughout the room. Every organic object it touched including the crew members died within seconds of contact. And they died horribly. Wherever the spores rested, Shadow growth sprouted. Steel, titanium, plastics electronics organic issue; nothing was immune. It seemed to act like a cancer more than anything else.

After a very tense series of meetings, the officers and crew came up with a series of theories. The most prominent theory was that Earth R&D most likely used actual samples of the living Shadow vessel discovered on Io and somehow managed to combine it with an inferior substrate that allowed the sample to grow into the armor covering the Shadow _Omega_ vessels. But the organic technology was so incredibly advance and alien, that there was no way that R&D could have created a stable template. The material grew on its own accord. And this was the result. The armor was alive and that crap was eating into her ship.

Three _Omegas_ would have been enough for their needs, but the two EA ships with her, minus her own, weren't large enough to carry the colonists to the Proxima system. This presented several problems that were giving everyone here a royal headache. Sol was out of the question and _B5_, was already straining with refugees. Proxima was the largest most defended of the Earth colonies complete with a major military defense force now going out of their way to play nice with the colonists there. Without her ship it would be impossible to carry them all and her crew, so that left her with one choice. She and her crew would be forced to remain behind so that the colonists could have enough room to evacuate with the two remaining Earth cruisers. No one was happy with this idea, but no one had any better suggestions either. With everything that was going on, no other vessels would return here for months. Cook had already been targeted and charlotte knew what the Sinhindrea were capable of if they came back.

EarthForce's reputation was deep in the can and given what had happened, it would take years for them to rebuild the trust among the other races. Rebuilding the confidence of the people they served began now and that meant sacrificing herself and her crew as necessary. Lieutenant Governor Akinson had been most insistent that they leave as soon as possible and none of the Captains could disagree with her. With so many colonials, the evacuation was still going to be a challenge to the remaining two vessels. The hyperspace beacons were constantly reconfiguring themselves throughout the sector and navigation would be extremely hazardous.

She had never expected that her command would end like this.

Idly, Clark wondered if Commander Ivanova felt this way with that _Kobayashi Maru_ simulation Garrett had given her. One would have though that she would have given up after the fifth try. It was unbeatable, yet Ivanova kept trying to defeat it. There was something more to that test, she suspected, something possibly more to do with choices rather than beating a no-win scenario. The more she thought about it the more she began to compare the _Maru_ scenario with her situation here. Well, she would have some time to think about it as she waited on a rescue ship-no matter how long it took.

**Jumpspace Cook star system: **

Alyt Aalaan sat in his ready room, his face an expressionless mask as he studied the reports from the probes already inside the Cook system. The colonies had been savaged by weapons of unknown, but immense power. His staff was still deeply suspicious of the EarthForce vessel reeking of Shadow technology and who knew what those Federationist had given the _Babylon Five_ Humans and their cohorts? The strange jump drives described by Alyt Menroi, Satai Neroon and the others were a source of concern among the entire Warrior and Worker castes. The possibilities that EarthGov would obtain these new technologies and what the Earthers might do with them, frightened them severely. Less than twenty years had passed since the Earth-Minbari war and many hostile memories were still burned in the hearts on both sides. Attempted genocide was a hard thing to get over when the losing side developed equalizers.

However Delenn and the others were very confident that the representatives of the United Federation of Planets, or UFOP as some of his people had taken to calling them, were not a threat to the Minbari. Their personal assurances counted for a lot but, but for most Minbari it was really too early to tell. But those concerns were for the future. For now, the destruction of so many jumpgates needed to be addressed. Some thought it might well be the Humans doing this in anticipation of the new warp drives of theirs that could soon be filling space. But he and the majority of the Minbari didn't accept this explanation as a viable possibility. This was the work of a new power asserting itself, not the Earthers doing insane things. For all he cared, they could kill themselves off, but even they wouldn't destroy the jumpgates.

Now the Federationists were a different matter; them he wanted to meet. Human combat strategies were interesting and innovative in ways his people had never imagined. Some of their tactics during the Centauri and Drakh confrontations were fascinating and he was tempted to meet with them simply to discuss comparative strategy. As a child, he'd been fascinated to the point of obsession with ancient, pre-space warfare on Minbar something that many superior-minded Minbari officers had derided. The Alyt had come to the realization that after a thousand years, the Minbari people had become too contented with their so-called technological superiority for far too long. Most were satisfied in their own technological supremacy, something that had now been shaken to their very core since the newcomers had arrived. Nearly obsessed, he studied combat strategies of as many of the races as he could find.

He was also interested in the holographic technologies that Alyt Menroi and some of the others had mentioned in such glowing terms. There was a program that several warriors stationed or visiting had used and their reactions to the program had been so profound that he wanted to try it himself. None of the warriors would fully describe what really happened during the exercise; however their lives seemed changed after the experience. They all seemed more reflective. There were vague rumors that the test was designed to test one's moral strengths, flaws, tactical abilities and above all, their command instincts. He wanted to take it and see for himself why it had garnered such respect among his peers. All he had were second-hand reports. He was sorely tempted to take some of the classes being offered at _Babylon Five_ just to interact with the Fed teachers, but duties kept him away from the place and the overall instability of the region made him wonder if he would ever have the opportunity to speak to them.

Another point of interests were the classes being taught at _Babylon Five_. Initially, many of the Minbari who'd taken the classes offered by the Federation onboard the station were openly suspicious of everything and many didn't bother hiding their generalized contempt. Classes were ridiculously expensive and most of the workers who participated were little more than spies trying to determine the validity of the so-called new sciences.

By the time those introductory ten-week classes were done, most of the students were clamoring to continue to the next level, all of them agreeing that those classes were more than worth it, even if the costs were twice the price. Over time, the worker castes were by far the most comfortable with the Federation than either of the others. The religious caste's attitude, as a whole, had remained somewhat indifferent to the Federationists. On the other hand, many of the warrior caste were openly hostile by the overall threat to Minbari supremacy and the challenge presented by the Federation. It mattered not at all that the other Humans had done nothing to provoke the Minbari. They just were-and that was enough.

Rii Mazik, his Executive Officer stood close to his side as he finished the reports. Quietly, he waited for his Alyt to recognize him.

"What is it?" he asked as he turned to face him.

"Alyt Shaka is anxious to jump into the system," Rii Mazik said. There was a hint of exasperation in his voice. "He wants to find out what these Humans know about the Sinhindrea. He is '_requesting'_ that we jump now before the Humans leave."

Aalaan sighed loudly. Once more he had cause to regret having that arrogant creature accompany him. His attitude for pushing his betters to the brink was well-known and his hatred for Humans legendary. He respected none of his equals and few of his superiors, which is why Shaka was with him on this mission. Someone had to keep watch over him and few others had the patience. "Open communications…Alyt Shaka, my friend," he said. "We jump in two minutes. Do not open your weapon's pots."

"It is a matter of respect," Shaka sneered. "It's been our tradition for a thousand years. The Earthers are aware of this tradition." Shaka glared for a long second. "If they're not, then they should be reminded what happened."

"Shaka, do as I have requested."

"As you wish," he responded sullenly.

Sometimes friendship was extremely stressful, Aalaan thought. "At my command, we jump," he ordered."

_**Needless to say: to be continued **_


	45. Chapter 36B

From: Stone Cold: Couple of quick things. 1) Venerable doesn't mean what I think you think it means. Venerable means impressive due to old age. I think the word you were looking for was vulnerable.

_One of many things I will correct in version 2.0._

2) What class is the Klingon vessel? A B'rel is a Bird of Prey like Martok had in DS9, but in no way does it have as much weaponry as your B'rel had.

_Actually there are two classes of the B'rel. One is a bird of prey and one is a larger destroyer, the __K'vort__ class-exact same design. There's a possibly that there are even more variations of this vessel. The one at B5 is the K'vort class destroyer._

**Chapter 36 B **

**Is The Same Anymore"**

"_**Eighteen Hours"**_

"Captain! We have two Minbari warships entering normal space. Their stealth fields are low power."

"Onscreen," Clark ordered quickly. The Minbari were not the enemy anymore, but she intended to be cautious and not do anything stupid. It was known that the Minbari and Shadows were deadly enemies and here she was flying a Shadowtech-based ship. "What's their status?"

"Weapons ports are closed, no high energy emissions."

"Good," she stated. "Open a channel to both ships." A moment she was treated to a visual of both Minbari Commanders by way of split screen. "Greetings, Minbari vessels. I am Captain Clark of the Earth Alliance vessel _Papros. _ What can I do for you today?"

"Greetings Captain, I am Alyt Aalaan of the Minbari Federation and my counterpart is Alyt Shaka," he said. "We're here investigating the destruction of the local jumpgates. We wish to determine the cause and rectify the situation."

He was rather polite, she noticed. Well she would reciprocate in kind. The last thing she wanted as an '_incident'_. "Our colonies in this system have been attacked by a race we suspect to be the Sinhindrea. Most of the colonists were killed before we arrived four days ago. They've been destroying jumpgates all over the sector. And we suspect this colony was targeted because of its communication's array."

"Then why haven't you stopped them," Alyt Shaka said sarcastically. "Surely your vaunted Shadow technology should have been enough to punish these creatures. The destruction of jumpgates is a violation of all the rules of civilized space-faring races."

Charlotte almost said something-impolite. This one was '_not'_ polite. But she stopped as she saw a glimmer of distaste from Aalaan. He didn't approve of the attitude of his fellow commander. "As you are no doubt aware of, Earth Alliance has had difficulties and as such our military is in somewhat of disarray." That was no secret. Everybody knew what had happened to Earth recently. "The Federation ship _Enterprise_ and two Earth Alliance ships investigated one jumpgate and were attacked by the Sinhindrea. I cannot stress how dangerous this race is and I would recommend that if you were to confront them that you do so aggressively."

"Bah," Shaka growled. "I see we will have to do your job for you, Earther. We will find and we will deal with these Sinhindrea."

"Alyt Shaka, this race is dangerous to the extreme. They've attacked Earth and Centauri Prime at the same time your ships were present, I might add." That was a subtle dig of course since the Minbari ships had been savaged as well. "Our weapons barely affect them."

"No surprise there," Shaka quipped. His disdain for her radiated through the communication waves.

"If you underestimate them, they will destroy you."

Alyt Shaka was essentially ignoring her, but the other Alyt was listening with rapt attention.

"Have you ever engaged this enemy?" he asked.

"Yes," came her answer immediately. "I can send you our recordings and data of the battle, if you wish."

Aalaan nodded. Shaka merely sneered.

Ten minutes later, after reviewing the battle video, the two Minbari commanders were a bit more subdued. Both had been unaware that the Grey Council's ship had also been engaged in the fight at Z'ha'dum. And what both Alyts saw disturbed them greatly. Neither had known details of the battle. Shadow vessels littering space for thousands of kilometers around Z'ha'dum in all directions had sobered them in a way nothing else could have.

But even then, Shaka wasn't fully convinced. "They are a powerful race, but what good was your ship? Your all-powerful Shadow vessel did little to change the outcome of your mission. Your allies presented you with an inferior ship."

Clark was becoming angry now. "First of all, the Shadows are not our allies. We found two derelicts in our own star system and we had no idea what they really were or the importance of what they represented before we started studying them. Granted, that was foolish of us, but we have far more important things to deal with at the moment, Alyt! You should be aware that... And you should also be aware that there's a conference going on right now with-well everybody, discussing this very problem. Even the Shadows and Vorlons are discussing joining forces to stop these aliens."

"You lie," Shaka snapped. His mind refused to wrap around the possibility of the Vorlons and Shadows coming together. But quickly he ordered that the transmission be tuned to Earther news channels. They were always, endless talking about everything. They were worse than the Centauri when it came to conveying useless conversation. This of course didn't prevent the ISN channels being a good source of information just like their _B5_ counterparts.

"It's being broadcast on all Earth channels," she countered. "Or aren't you interested in things other than Minbari?"

"Arrogant Earther," he hissed, clearly insulted by her and the fact that she knew a lot more about what was going on. It was his fault that he had chosen to ignore what was shaping up to be the most important conference in history. "We should have wiped your people from existence when we had the chance."

"Alyt Shaka," Aalaan said. His voice was cold. "You show disrespect. Stop, now."

"I will not," Shaka snapped. "They ally themselves with Shadows, an enemy of ours for a thousand years. It is within our rights to blow this ship out of the sky."

Clark did something that neither Alyt expected. She smiled. "Alyt Shaka," the Captain began. "I won't even dispute what you've just said. Because you're right about one thing, this ship should not have been built. Shadow technology is too dangerous for my people to handle. This ship is a poison that needs to be eliminated. Now," she continued, "make no mistake. I love my ship, but the price for this technology is too high. I really don't have a problem with you destroying this ship. It's killing my people. We're preparing to abandon the _Papros_. But for the record, I will be the one who determines the fate of my ship, not you."

Aalaan was surprised by such an honest, open admission. A quick scan showed that the Shadow skin was penetrating the ship as if it were a living thing. But he also calculated that a number of people would have to be left behind. The EA ships area were insufficient to carry them all. Some would have to be left to fend for themselves on that rock.

Shaka didn't notice and if he had, could have cared less. "Hurry so that I may blow this abomination out of space. Humans have no concepts of dealing with technologies above their comprehension."

"Yes," Clark agreed pleasantly, surprising them both once more. "I think that we Humans need to take our research and development in a new direction. The Federation and Klingons have some technologies and new engineering approaches that may become very useful to us in the future."

Aalann smiled at the retort he considered fitting of the occasion.

Shaka seemed to want to scream. The battle between the _Ambassador_ and '_Blood of Saints'_ was already the stuff of legend and every Minbari warrior, worker, and religious caste member who saw the televised battle had experienced the fury and unbridled fear of being regulated to second class behind the Human colonials from the unknown regions. Several of the warrior clans continually expressed strong desires to challenge and destroy the _Ambassador_ out of spite. There was also an almost overwhelming need to blot out the perceived shame of one of theirs being defeated. Shaka was one of those.

Others wanted to understand the technology that so easily overwhelmed one of their ships one-on-one. But many of them feared that their own people had become too stagnant, too rigid in their thinking about their place in the universe. And that complacency so prevalent in their culture might well be the reason why these other Federationist races were equal to or surpassing them technically-wise.

"Don't depend of them to lift up what is left of your pitiful people to our status," Shaka announced. "When I encounter the Federation ship I will be the one to challenge the female Garrett and wipe out the stain that has dishonored our people."

"Alyt Rannaonn was defeated in honorable combat," Clark said. "I wish I'd had been there to see it," she added just loud enough for both of the Minbari Alyts to hear.

"I'm sure you would have," Aalaan said dryly. "It isn't often that the Minbari are defeated one-on-one by ships of the younger races," an understatement if there ever was one. The Grey Council was also thinking about the future. The first of twelve squadrons were in the home system, preparing to jump to _Babylon Five_ under the command of Shai Alyt Jaysonn. Twelve _Sharlins_ and twice the number of _Tinashis_ would be strong statement of their support. He had been confused by the orders but now after reviewing the records he understood why. They wanted the other lesser races to see that the Minbari were offering a strong show of support. It also would send a clear message that the Minbari wanted to expand their presence, taking a wider role among the other races.

"Alyt Rannaonn's incompetence allowed us to become the subject of jokes among all of the younger races!" Shaka growled. "The '_Blood of Saints_ should have easily destroyed that ship!"

"Both ships survived, Alyt Shaka," she replied harshly. She clearly saw he wasn't going to let this go. If his attitude were the rule rather than the exception, then there was going to be trouble between Humans a Minbari once more. She needed to defuse this now. "We don't need to worry about a minor dispute when these aliens are planning to kill us all," she implored. "Instead of trying to kill them, why don't you try talking instead?" she surprised herself saying that considering the fact that her initial response to Garrett was about the same as Shaka's.

"You primitives can't be allowed to possess this technology," Shaka countered. "The Warrior caste will make sure that-"

"Both of you! Enough!" yelled Aalaan. Shaka, acting this way, like a stubborn child trying to reclaim some lost honor in front of this Human was embarrassing to the entire Minbari race. "This juvenile posturing is a waste of everyone's time. Captain, may I ask, what are your plans?"

"My plans are to evacuate the remaining colonists, and then set the self-destruct sequence and destroy this ship. My crew and I will remain on the planet until a rescue ship comes for us."

"Do what you think is best with your ship, Captain," Aalaan relied. "However, I offer to take your crew to _Babylon Five_. Perhaps during our transit we can discuss our responsibilities like civilized beings?"

"What?" Shaka gasped. "They're followers of the Shadows! Peace or not, they are contaminated beings and you would pollute your ship with their presence? Have you gone mad?"

"I am simply trying to learn, my friend. Knowledge is power and I intend to acquire it as fast as I can."

"But our mission is to find the culprits who are destroying the gates," he protested.

"As much as I wish it were not so, what we've seen and what we're hearing on the Earther channels cannot be denied. Our two vessels cannot stop these aliens by ourselves. Our mission has been accomplished, Alyt Shaka. We have found the culprits. It has been confirmed that it is the Sinhindrea."

"Alyt Aalaan, we haven't encountered-"

"It is done," Aalaan said firmly effectively ending the argument before it began. "Now, our people need to devise a course of action. Our fleet is mobilized but if what we've seen is true, it may not be enough. If the Vorlons and the Shadows are indeed collaborating, then I need to talk to Alyt Neroon and the others personally."

**00-00**

**Z'ha'dum:**

On the surface of a world so old, that the name Z'ha'dum was only the latest of several, the supreme Clovien Lord screamed its rage along with the others of its kind at the frustration the sHp'kU vessels had visited upon them. The dimensional gate was still active in all of its wondrous glory, but its function was still closed to them, blocked by the invisible, self-replicating mines that so far repulsed every effort by its people to remove them. Sinhindrea on both sides were stymied by these defiantly ingenious weapons. This intolerable situation threatened the colony. Many of the initial warships that had transverse the veil were damaged or destroyed by the battle with the Shadows. Those 'old ones' had fought with the same strength and desperation as had the Vorlonstain (sVop'kU) so many generations past. But they had been unorganized and were defeated and the survivors along with their servants devoured. The defeated ones ran but 't_he people'_ were in no shape to pursue until the other reinforcements could arrive. Bioships were sent to test the powers of the alien powers within the region. All were found to be inferior and serviceable for food. The Vorlons has suffered a major war and were weak in ways there weren't when they were last encountered. There were mature, powerful races detected but they were weak in numbers and not considered extreme threats. Nothing they had seen would be able to resist the swarming when the time came. Transition and colonization through the gate proceeded smoothly, so smoothly in fact that its people had gotten careless. Hundreds of colony ships had passed through the dimensional veil into the new universe, having priority over the large numbers of the waiting warships.

But something broke through. Several vessels from an unknown species boldly fought their way through the gate and killed several colony and warships before even knew they were being attacked. Their weapons mimicked the race being fought in the home-verse. The Imperixe parasites used such weapons as did the ones called the Borg. But this race was neither of them. They were something new, possessed with an arrogance that belied their station. In the home-verse they would be encountered and destroyed soon. But when the sHp'kU came here, they interfered and now the people were isolated in this alien universe without the full support of their military. All efforts to regain control of the gate had been so far rebuffed. The colony was isolated and was now almost completely on its own; therefore, it needed a threat assessment concerning its new territory.

Standard telepathic interrogation of the Shadow creatures gave them valuable intelligence about this area of space. It knew that the creatures of this universe would rise against _'the people'_ to destroy them, so they had to prepare. The sHp'kU vessels had been tracked by the Clovien mind-hunters who could rip the needed information out of their prey's minds. Then with that data they could defeat the mines guarding the Vorlon gate. However the hunter-ships were destroyed when they went up against the small sHp'kU warships. Twice they had attacked and twice the Humanstain vessels survived. Wary, '_The People'_ sent probes to find their place of origin within this new universe. They found the Centauri, sHp'kU-like aliens who were weak and could be overrun easily. Dedicated mind-probers discovered other sHp'kU and followed them to their homeworld. And another vessel not unlike the one that controlled the mines was targeted by two superior vessels. They were destroyed despite their shields and superior firepower. Other Clovien hunters discovered the sHp'kU world called Earth and tried to eliminate it the potential treat. They failed once more, underestimating the small powerful ships and their relatives. But the threat had been confirmed.

Apprehensive now of the threat of these seemingly primitive but very dangerous Humanstain, its people turned inward to prepare. They reproduced and grew their protect-ships in abundance. And they planned. If they were to be trapped without a way to the home-verse then they would subjugate this galaxy and for that they needed numbers. They were a superior species destined to rule. There was nothing beyond their grasps. They weren't pretentious, believing themselves to be gods. But they were the most worthy. They were Sinhindrea and they would prevail as they had done so for so long.

Therefore they prepared. The sHp'kU were dangerous however, they were but small. There were others in space that needed to be culled and neutralized so that the primary target would remain isolated and vulnerable until their time was ripe for destruction.


	46. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

**_"Eighteen hours" _**

(fanfiction net only)

_**Babylon Five:**_

_**Hour Fourteen:**_

What the others hadn't seen, Galen saw.

Guinan had once again astounded him. The woman was phenomenal, her power extraordinary. Using everything at his disposal he had tried to analyze her and to his surprise she had allowed him to. He found nothing out of the ordinary and he was amused. She seemed perfectly normal for whatever species she was. But even that was a deception. She played the game well, even allowing the Kosh leader to take credit for what she had done. The Vorlon leader now despised here even more.

This was the most entertainment that he had had in a very long time. He suppressed his urge to clap and yell for more, but he kept himself reserved. He lost it briefly however when one of the Soul Hunters joined the party. His single laugh was enough draw the ire of Guinan who seemed to peer into his soul. He understood, quietly chastened by this unusual woman he respected more than any other he'd ever met. He sat back to watch. And what he saw, so did the rest of the techno-mages.

As these people were coming together, therein lay the seeds of the technomages' fate as well. No longer could the masters of magic and science continue to simply observe on the sidelines. If the Soul Hunters-even the Soul Hunters! - were involving themselves in this unprecedented meeting of the powers that be, then how could the technomages continue to hide in the dark? Yes, their secrets were their own, but the Shadows, Vorlons, Humans, Centauri, Minbari and a dozen other races were at the very edge of pooling their resources for a common cause. The Soul Hunter was most likely here for the same reason. With this unprecedented gathering of powers taking place, how long would it be before their respective technologies began to merge? Without the Vorlon's interference, the merged technologies would advance at a phenomenal rate. And that would mean that the Technomages would be left behind, still trying to horde their antiquated secrets.. The Starfleet other-universal Humans would share theirs, how could his people not do the same?

**00-00**

The Soul Hunter was relatively young, as his species considered age, and he was very uncomfortable being around so many people-who incidentally hated everything he was and everything he represented. His sect wasn't honored, respected, or even liked by any of the races, all because they misunderstood the Soul Hunter's purpose for existing. So his people were shunned, hated and even sometimes killed while performing their sacred duty. So this-event- was something so unusual that he didn't really know how to react and he didn't know what the people's responses would be to his presence. As he walked slowly towards the podium, he took the time to gather his thoughts. He saw the Minbari glaring at him with unmitigated hatred and loathing. The other races exhibited undiluted fear. Even the Vorlons were somewhat wary of his presence. The enormity of it all frightened him somewhat.

But the Humans, both of the Alliance and the so-called Federation didn't show any fear at all. There was a curiosity shown by the Earthers, yes. But the other Humans seemed unconcerned by his presence and that was oddly refreshing in ways he had never really experienced before.

The alien, whose appearance looked somewhat like Lorien, paused for a final second as he basked in the silence dominating in a room full of people. "As I speak to you now, I speak for all of my Order," he started. "They are listening even as I speak. To understand us is to first realize that we harm no one unless it is absolutely necessary when we perform our most sacred duty. We have come to _Babylon Five_ because we are taught to understand that we are to go to wherever the spirit moves us. It is also curiosity, and an opportunity to learn from all of you. Our Order rarely has contact with any others and we barely speak to others except to those we come to save. Despite your misconceptions concerning our ways, we are not thieves. That is not our purpose," he emphasized. "We preserve, we do not destroy. But your erroneous perceptions should be discussed at another, more appropriate time."

As he spoke those last words, there was a collective wave of disgust and hatred so focused that it seemed like a physical force battering him. He ignored that and continued. "It is known to everyone here that there is a great darkness preparing to move. If something is not done soon then death will suffocate this galaxy. We have information that you need to know in order to survive this, this plague of death. Our sect has watched as the ones you call the Sinhindrea have established themselves at Z'ha'dum. They have brought death and destruction to the four star system of the Kor-Lya Federation. The Rial system has fallen, as has the Thrakalla, Torlig, Llesirta, Tokat, Trivor, and a half dozen populated star systems. There is no life other than theirs in those systems now. We have observed Z'ha'Dum and we have estimated that there are '_eleven billion' _Sinhindrea there and increasing in numbers. They require food for their young and they consume everything. These creatures are telepathic and they use that ability to sedate their prey, lull them into a sense of complacency before they consume them. The gateway from their space to ours has been denied them by them," he said pointing to the Federation representatives. "They were unprepared for that eventuality. And they are filled with unleashed rage. They are building warships that no government alone can hope to match. Your people and mine cannot survive separately, so we offer our services so that we might all have a chance to continue."

"Exactly what are you offering?" the one called Sheridan asked him.

"Complete, full access to '_all of our'_ intelligence on these invaders," was his response, which was rewarded with dead silence.

"Will your people fight with us?"

The gasps of horror were audible to security outside the sealed doors. "You cannot ask those creatures to fight along side us," Delenn shouted.

Everyone looked at her surprised by her outburst. But those who knew her understood her reluctance. The attempted stealing of Dukhat's soul and the experience of having one of their kind trying to steal her own soul had marked her. Besides her, a silent, hostile Neroon was in complete agreement.

"We need everyone," Sheridan countered. "We are all in this no matter what our personal feeling about one another we must come together to survive this and we have to start now, this very second."

"I understand," the Soul Hunter said. "We are universally feared and hated and most of you would surely want us all dead, because you fail to understand the nobility of our mission. But we are offering what we can."

He nodded at the young Soul Hunter, then defiantly glared at the Vorlon and the Shadow Lords who both went out of their way not to notice. "Now, I will repeat myself. Will you fight with us?"

"My people have discussed this at length. Our conclusion is that, in order for us to continue, everyone else must continue. We will fight with you."

"Thank you," John said simply yet very sincerely. "We'll take everything we can get."

The Soul Hunter could feel the warmth of that simple statement and that gave him the strength to continue on. "We-- can offer something else, but…" He hesitated, unsure how these people would respond to his proposal. "…There is a price. We will share some of our technology."

"What type of technology are you offering to us?" G'Kar asked politely.

"In order for our sect to save the honored souls, we have developed ways to gain access to any ship by burning through its hull. We have called this device the inferno shield. It allows us to burn through the hull but it also allows us to re-seal the damage done. We don't kill unnecessarily and our purpose is no to damage anything around us as we perform our sacred missions. We will give the proposed coalition an earlier version of that shield which will allow you to burrow into any enemy vessel. As you can clearly see, this technology can be put to many practical uses when fighting an enemy. We can also provide you with a jump engine half the size of your currently model."

There was a quiet mummer among most of the people in the room. However, the Vorlon leader was furious at him for suggesting such a radical move.

"We do not approve," the Vorlon leader said. "The balance will be upset. The young races will spread too far, too quickly. It will lead to ruin. There are dangers that you are unprepared to encounter without guidance. You will die."

As expected, the noise died down a bit as the different races took into account who was speaking. When a Vorlon spoke, the younger races listened he thought bitterly. His own people had been tampered with by the Vorlons as well, but after more than forty thousand years his people managed to undo the damage. The Vorlons were not happy about that but had chosen not to retaliate against his kind.

As Admiral Janeway stood up the Soul Hunter scrutinized her carefully. He was very interested in hearing what she had to say. "As an acquaintance once told my people, 'it's dangerous out here, full of wonders both subtle and gross but it is not for the timid." She spared a quick glance at an uncomprehending Picard and the Soul Hunter wondered why. "Danger is always present in one form or another Ambassador. Whether we hid under our beds or go boldly forth it will always be present. Life is not static, it doesn't move slowly because we wish it to be so. If we force things to stay where they are, events will overrun us. Both you and your Shadow counterparts have manipulated the races in this region long enough. It's time to let go."

The Vorlon didn't respond but everyone staring at him saw his encounter suit trembling with rage.

The Soul Hunter thought furiously. Both the Vorlons and Shadows had tentatively agreed to help in the coming war, a stunning revelation in itself, but the Shadows had made it clear that they would not provide the cure for the plague on Earth. However his sect did have the cure. If the Shadows wouldn't provide it, maybe they would. That would do wonders for relations with the Humans.

However, the thoughts of extremely angry Shadows hunting his people in retaliation gave him pause and he was unsure if he should even offer the cure without discussing it with his superiors. Nearly a hundred worlds had been destroyed during the last Shadow war, dozens of races rendered extinct. The very name Shadow was enough inspire fear among all of the races, including his own. His own people had chosen not to enter the war and by some miracle of neutrality, they had survived most of the devastation. The Vorlons weren't innocent of atrocities either; but then, history is always written by the victors.

He decided to wait. Besides this Federation group were well on their way to finding the cure independently of his help. If they had difficulty completing the cure then he resolved to add it as an incentive when he began negotiations with them. And they didn't fear the Shadows, making them either fools, or a very powerful organization that could deal with the Shadows if necessary. That thought alone surprised him and filled him with wonder and more than a bit of dread. He wondered what these Humans were like in that other universe. He could almost see the intensities of their spirits residing inside them. The Captain called Picard, Admiral Janeway, Captain Sisko, Captain Garrett, Commander Sheridan, Delenn, there were so many here. What would it be like to have so many of those souls protected in the Order's collection?

The instant the thought formed within his mind, he felt eyes boring into him. It was the Guinan female. He nodded quickly acknowledging that he knew of their true origins. There secrets were their own, but…

"What are you asking for?" Sheridan asked.

"That is something that I will discuss with the representatives of the Federation privately. If they agree, then we will provide the technology I have promised. But I will provide you with the data now." He pulled out a small crystal and handed to Commander Sheridan.

Sheridan looked at it as if it were the Holy Grail.

"Thank you," he whispered.


	47. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

_**"Eighteen Hours" **_

** Draconis Star system**

Minbari_ Sharlin Hosanna:_

"What is it?"

"I don't know," the tactical officer stated. "I've not seen this before. It is most unusual_." _

"Yes, I see," First-in-Command Tebash stared at the computer's display with trying to discern exactly what he was seeing. Civilian comm traffic had increased dramatically at the sight of the strange craft casually heading towards the planet. "Is that one of the Federation ships?"

"No," was the response. "It's not responding to any of the hails. This could be a first contact situation."

'_Aliens were coming out of the ice flow,_' thought Tebash. _'And during these perilous times, this is not a good idea.'_ "Try to identify the ship. Inform the Shai Alyt and ask him to come to the bridge.

The Shai Alyt was in his quarters relaxing, reading his orders once more. He was disturbed by the rashness of the Grey Councils orders to go to _Babylon Five_. His thoughts were interrupted by his interlink beeping for his attention.

"Shai Alyt Jaysonn, we're detecting unusual distortions. Apparently a ship has come out of FTL transit and is heading towards the homeworld."

"What does that have to do with us?" he asked the young warrior manning the comms. "The home guard has authority here."

"It's of unknown configuration and it did not use a jump point to enter our space. It's different from anything I've ever seen."

"Not jump space?"

"Negative."

"I'll be there immediately. Continue monitoring the situation."

He stretched. Hope for a few last moments of peace before a long mission had disappeared. Slowly, he headed for the bridge. _Babylon Five_ continued dominating his thoughts. Could he have done better than Alyt Rannaonn in a contest against the _Ambassador_? The _Hosanna_ was a more powerful _Sharlin_ than _Blood of Saints_, he proudly admitted to himself and he would have approached the situation differently. He had no hatred for the Feds and their technology, although impressive, was only the equal to his own peoples-with the exception of the energy shields. Now that particular technology was worth bargaining for. Any advantage that allowed one to survive longer in a firefight was worth it. But trying to take it was foolish. Why did he try to provoke what could be powerful allies, or very dangerous enemies for something that could be acquired in a more civilized manner? The Starfleeter ships were rumored to take on Shadow battlecrabs and survive the experience. Didn't that give him a hint of the capabilities of those vessels? The Grey Council should be talking about developing closer ties with those Humans, not promoting hostilities. Besides, many Minbari who had contact with them seemed to get along well, even enjoying the overall experience. As for Alyt Shaka, his head was so empty of intelligence, his skull should have long since imploded from the power of the vacuum inside it. By anyone's standards he was- what was the popular derogatory term the Humans used?- boneheaded. He didn't know Rannaonn personally, but the Alyt was stupid to…

His thoughts were interrupted by the loud siren of combat alert just as he entered the bridge. "Report," he demanded.

"Two patrol vessels have just been destroyed by the unknown contact."

Surprise registered on the Shai Alyt's face. Hadn't they had their stealth fields active? "Who is responding?" he demanded.

"Two _Tinashis_ are on high speed vector, the _Dybiva_ and _Starshine_."

"Sir, there are more distortions," the Comms Officer said quickly. "The ships are a lot bigger….receiving data. There are close to thirty small ships and ten large carriers. We have identification…" He stopped and stared at the screen for a second. "It can't be!"

"By all that is sacred! Active our squadron! Power all weapons. No stealth," he continued. "Those aliens can see through our screens. Use the power for the weapons. Inform Minbar Central that we are engaging the Sinhindrea."

**00-00**

_**Babylon Five:**_

Captain Garrett stood on the podium, preparing here speech. It was kind of daunting as ISN and several other Human and alien news agencies had stuck microphones at her. The floating ones were those that irritated her the most. "Representatives from EarthForce, the Minbari Federation, _Babylon Five_ and my vessel, the _Ambassador _traveled to Z'ha'dum. We also carried several ambassadors from the Non-Aligned races with us to evaluate the threat of these aggressive species. What we found was a star system filled with the remains of Shadow, Sinhindrea, and Drakh vessels for a distance of two light years. As we approach the planet, we discovered the Sinhindrea had dominated the battle. We managed to capture one of the aliens but it was killed as it tried to escape its cell.

The details of that breakout attempt have been forward to the various news agencies. However I will sum it up as quickly as I can," she continued. "What we captured was in effect a juvenile less than three years old." The huge view screen in front of the assembly presented a 3D representation of the squid-like creature. "Physically it has three times the mass of a Human adult, very strong and highly telepathic. The creature continually transmitted emissions of joy and contentment as it tried to entice my security guards open the cell door. When that failed the creature went into a rage. The creature is a cyborg. It has cybernetic implants that allow it to interface with its ship. And it also carries several weapons including very sharp teeth designed to shred its prey-meaning us. It is an aquatic creature that has adapted itself to just about any environment and autopsy reports of its digestive system have suggested that it's constantly starving for fresh protein. The adult version, shown here, is more crustacean-like, seven to nine time larger than and adult Human male. Genetically, these aliens are triple-helix, carbon-based life forms, also possessing unique characteristics found in silicon-based DNA. Our medical staff believes that they have undergone extensive modification to their genetic structure which would account for their resilience and the silicon characteristics.

"The nymphs, as we have taken to calling the juveniles, use these ships shown here." The image changed from the menacing looking adult Sinhindrea to a fighter craft. "These ships are the standard fighter used by the Sinhindrea. There are three types that vary in size and power only. The first is not much larger than an EarthForce Starfury. The second is the size of a _Whitestar_ fighter. The third is the size of an EarthForce _Hyperion_ destroyer. They are equipped with defense shields and plasma-based pulse weapons.

"Their larger vessels are bigger than a _Shagotti_-class _Sharlin_ with two sizes." That caused more than a few murmurs. Those who hadn't seem that class ship had certainly heard of it. It was considered one of the supreme vessels in the younger races.

"The first variation we have designated cruiser and battleship, is essentially a huge power matrix encased in a crystalline globe of unknown properties, probably some sort of osmotic particle chamber and large weapons emplacement, supported by several secondary beam weapons. Their weapons include both the pulse plasma weapon and a high intensity energy beam capable of destroying any enemy the come into contact with. We have theorized that the power matrix used by them is a form of quantum annihilation. A constant creation and destruction of micro-black holes would create the type and amount of energy we're seeing within these ships. These single-globed ships are fourteen and sixteen hundred meters, respectively. The other vessel classified as a dreadnaught is twenty-two hundred meters and has two power globes at the rear of the vessel. All of their vessels are protected by defensive shields which are energy fields capable of deflecting incoming weapon's fire. The composition of this structure is unknown to us and consists of an alloy that can't be fully identified by our scanners. The ship itself is hollow and is a composite of tritanium and a crystalline substance, held together by some type of fluidic polymer, sensors can't even begin to identify. The fluidic polymer keeps the structure together, acting as a kind of adhesive keeping the ship together. This polymer soaks up energy like a sponge and we believe that it is used as an assist to transfer energy back and forth to the rest of the vessel. We have come to think of it as the life-blood of the ship used in the same manner as we use to transfer our energy throughout Federation vessel. But it is a technology completely foreign to anything we have encountered in our travels.

"I cannot stress how dangerous these ships are. One on one, an unshielded vessel has almost no chance against one of these monsters. It takes an average of seven direct hits from a Starfury to effect a fighter of similar size. By then, it's too late," she added soberly. The technology is organically based and is similar to another race the Federation has encountered known as species 8472."

At that the Vorlons and Shadows perked up, curious. These Humans had encountered 'another' race that used organic technology! Once more, both the Shadows and Vorlons resolved to find out where these Federation interlopers came from. Long-ranged scouts from both sides had so far not turned up anything and that indicated the strong possibility that these people were from the other side of the Galaxy. It would take scouts months to get to the other side and begin their searches. These Federations had hidden themselves well, or more disturbingly, another group of First Ones had protected and hidden them.

As old as both species were, as well traveled as they were, they still hadn't seen everything in the galaxy. These unaltered Humans must have been transported away by another race, hidden and protected from both Vorlons and Shadows until the time came when they could disrupt the great experiment. The last Great War between the First Ones ten thousand years ago was the most likely time when this could have possibly occurred. Those unknown interlopers must have also kidnapped a few other primitive races as well and allowed them to develop technology that was far beyond their station. It was a violation of everything that the Vorlons stood for. Immature races should never be allowed such technology.

Covert, quick scans of these unknowns indicated that the genetic alterations inherent within all of the younger races for a region of at least four thousand light-years in all directions, wasn't present in these creatures. The great experiment had been compromised, the circle altered in ways no Vorlon could predict, the past unforeseen through old eyes. After this war, they would find the interferers and punish them for their insolent interference. But for now, they had to wait. Lorien's will was absolute. The meeting was winding down and tomorrow it would begin again. The young ones were weak and needed rest in order to continue functioning at full strength. Vengeance would be saved for later.

_**Chi Draconis Star system**_

"Have the patrol craft disengage immediately," he yelled. The small craft didn't have a chance and he knew it. "Order the _Tinashis_ to engage- long distance weaponry only. Launch all _Nials_ and have them engage the fighters only. Have the squadron follow my lead; we will deal with the capital ships. I want the _Maxonn_ and _Rishionn_'s _Star_ to jump into hyperspace and await my orders. We'll flank these vessels and destroy them. Send word to the Grey Council of our situation."

"At once."

Four of six of the Minbari patrollers immediately reversed course and accelerated for all that they were worth as three of the third-space alien fighters began their pursuit. One of them fired and another patrol ship broke apart spilling its crew into hard vacuum. By now the others had reached the safety of the _Tinashis_ frigate's weapons as it began long distance bombardment against the enemy. Undeterred, the three fighters fired back, their plasma pulses accurately hitting the foremost _Tinashi_. The ship's front weapons exploded upon impact. But it wasn't disabled and continued to fire secondary weapons scoring on one of the fighters. The fighter was knocked off trajectory and was hit again. This time, its shield didn't protect it and it flashed brightly before disappearing. The two other fighters slowed now, waiting for their companions which were now accelerating towards the Minbari.

"Order the _Starshine_ to disengage," ordered Jaysonn. The ship was severely damage from the energy bolt and he had no intentions of unnecessarily sacrificing the crew.

Sixty _Nials_ rushed ahead of his squadron and hit the smaller fighters with all of the firepower at their disposal. Nials fired on the smaller enemy fighters as they dodged retaliatory strikes. The Sinhindrea survived the first strikes as their energy shields absorbed the hellish weapons of his side's fire. Three _Nials_ were destroyed instantly and four more were in trouble. One _Nial_ went head to head with one of the enemy ships, firing over and over at point blank range. The enemy returned fire just as aggressively and vaporized the _Nial_ along with its pilot.

Two things became immediately apparent. The first was that his people were relying too much on their stealth fields which were completely useless in this fire fight. They had been trained too well in its use and were having trouble compensating without its protection. The pilots weren't evading enough and it was getting them killed.

The second thing he noticed was that the Sinhindrea were anticipating where the _Nials_ were going to turn. It was as if they were reading the pilots' intentions and with a start he understood that that's exactly what was happening.

"Have the _Nials_ team up against the enemy, no less than three to one if possible," he desperately ordered. "The enemy can read our pilots minds, anticipating their next more. They must not think; they must do if they are to survive!" That was a tactic not used by his people for a thousand years because there had been no need for it. It was a natural mistake in the same vein as the telepaths who depended on their telepathy too much thereby sacrificing their other senses, allowing them to atrophy. It was a mistake he intended to correct.

Finally his squadron was in range of the larger ships. '_No time to__waste_'. "Fire."

Thirty-six Minbari warships fired as one. Twenty and forty megaton per second gravitic neutron and fusion beams splashed across the shields of all ten capital ships. To the stunned defenders, Minbari energy beams were reflected and did no damage to any of the enemy ships. The ten vessels returned fire and an equal number of Minbari vessels died. One moment they were there. The next, ten Minbari _Sharlins_ and _Tinashis_ ceased to exist, every one turned into a brilliant star with only one shot.

More warships were on their way but they wouldn't be in range for another twenty minutes. The patrol ships were assisting the _Nials_, who needed all of the help they could get staying alive. Enemy fighters were cutting them to pieces, the Minbari formations were being torn apart.

Alyt Jaysonn_ Hosanna _was afraid. His defense wasn't working wasn't working. He quickly ordered the remaining ships to concentrate on two of the enemy only. They fired once more. The targeted Sinhindrea shields were overwhelmed, their power-sources compromised and the vessels exploded with enough force to destroy everything within a two thousand kilometer radius. The Sinhindrea shields had protected them from the blast but two more _Tinashis _and four_ Llandras_ just now answering the call, were caught in the energy wash and were completely vaporized. And eight more of his squadron died by enemy fire as he watched unable to do anything about it. Jaysonn couldn't believe it. The destruction of their ships was just as dangerous as being hit. If one of those things crashed onto the planet…!

One of the huge bulbous vessels, escorted by six of the larger organic ships moved away from the others and began a run toward the planet. His own escorts were firing at the warships now using everything they had to overcome the defensive screens protecting the hated enemy. The Alyt felt a cold fury that surpassed his hatred for Drakh and what they'd done. It was almost as strong as his mounting fears. "Order the _Maxonn_ and _Rishionn_'s _Star _to jump and stop the breakaway group by any means necessary! Order planetary defenses to fire on those ships! Don't let them get close to the planet!"

His own ship's long burst of fire added its hell to the others targeting the lead ship. The shields turned bright red as the onslaught continued. An instant later the shields failed and heavy neutron beams touched the power matrix. The Sinhindrea capital ship detonated with the most satisfying explosion he'd ever seen. But the breakaway ships heading towards the planet home was now his primary concern. Both _Sharlins_ had entered normal space furiously firing on the enemy. They were supported by planetary defense and other ships of all configurations all trying stop the advance.

"What's happening with…?"

He never finished as his ship was sliced in half by a Sinhindrea beam weapon. The bridge had been spared a direct hit but the quantum singularity was moments away from going critical. He couldn't feel his legs. Looking down, he discovered that they weren't there anymore. Everyone else was dead and he could see the walls buckling about to open themselves to vacuum.

There was a horrible tearing sound as the bulkhead collapsed sucking the last remaining air and dead bodies into the great darkness. "What of my wife and child?" was his last thought before the coldness of space claimed his life.

**00-00**


	48. Chapter39

**Chapter 39**

**"_Eighteen Hours_-Finally it s done!" **

(fanfiction net only)

_**Babylon Five**_

**Hour Sixteen:**

"Shields up," Commander Susan Ivanova ordered. Her face was a study of concentration, but inside she was elated. The station had defensive shields like the Fed ships. Now was the time for the first real test of their ability to protect the station. Let the Vorlons and Shadows shock on it. Besides she always wanted to say that since that stupid _Maru _scenario invaded her life.

"Generators are at one hundred percent," Corwin announced. "We're ready to begin."

"Okay, _Whitestar_ three, you may begin. Weapons at one third power."

"Roger that."

The _Whitestar_ vessel powered up and fired a small burst at the rear of the station. The beam impacted the energy shields.

"Status?" Susan queried.

"Shields holding. No change."

Excellent. "_Whitestar_ three, fire full power, same area."

A high powered shot slammed into the shields, resulting in the same effect.

"Alyt Menroi, please fire on the same area."

"Are you sure?" the Alyt asked. He concern was evident. "A sustained shot might damage the station."

"We need to find out about these shields now, not later. Do your worst."

"As you wish."

The full power of the _Sharlin's_ main guns hit the station shields. The _Whitestar_ added its weapons fire as well. Two EarthForce vessels joined in as well as the _Ambassador_.

"Unbelievable," said Susan. None of the bridge crew could believe what they were seeing. "Status?"

"Shields at ninety-two percent…eighty- nine percent…ninety-one percent…eighty eight percent."

"Okay cease fire," said a smiling Ivanova. "Test is successful."

Those words were greeted by a chorus of shouts throughout the _CnC_ and _B5_ engineering. To those races watching outside, the test was nothing short of spectacular. This extravagant display of power was a political statement as well as a practical one. It screamed 'look at _Babylon Five_. We can and will protect'. The Centauri, Drazi, and Earther contingents were suitably impressed. The prospect of acquiring shielding made them more willing to work together. The Narn representatives simply watched impassively. They already had access to the technology by way of the Klingons. The tens of dozens of refuges races watched with tepid optimism. If the station could be protected by such power, then maybe that protection would be extended to them as well.

EarthForce observers were beside themselves and tachyon emissions increased significantly the moment phase one had been completed. The irony was that _Babylon Five_ had come into its own and as a Human created station, the only people not being able to benefit from these incredible advances were the Humans who built the station in the first place. What was crystal was that none of the EF officers would even dream of trying to take this by force, especially not now. Those days were over. The politics and political attitudes of EarthDome had better get its act together quickly or Humanity would be the very last race to benefit from the fantastic advances of the last fifteen months.

Susan smiled as she thought about the conversations going on throughout the station. Right now EarthForce was having a fit. Hostilities were over but the treaties hadn't been ratified yet and until they were, EarthGov wasn't going to get a thing. So let them sweat.

Okay, it was time for round two. "_Voyager_, let's see how you do," she said.

"_Voyager_ is ready," a gruff voice said. It had to be the other Worf.

"Shields back up to one hundred percent, Commander."

She didn't expect too much. If a _Sharlin_, the _Ambassador_, _WhiteStar_ three and two EarthForce _Omegas_ couldn't make a dent in the shield; then _Voyager_'s upgraded weapons shouldn't be able to either. "Proceed," she said with utter confidence.

"Proceeding."

A moment later, the pulsed phasers hit the targeted shields with enough force for Susan to feel a slight tremor.

"Good Lord! STATUS!"

"Seventy percent and falling…sixty... fifty-three!"

"Enough!" Susan screamed into the comms. What kind of weapons were they using?

"Acknowledged."

A moment later everything was fine.

"Shields are firming back up," said a relieved Corwin. "Wait. One of the shield generators just failed. Engineers are on it."

She was breathing hard. "_Voyager_, were those phasers?"

"Yes," the Commander said. She could hear the smirk in his voice. "_Voyager's_ weapons are more advanced than the _Enterprise_ and the _Ambassador_."

She could swear that he wanted to add the words, "both together." She shook her head in wonderment. Apparently, _B5_ shields couldn't handle _Voyager,_ but it could handle probably about a dozen simultaneous shots from just about anybody else without a sweat. Then, of course there was the extra protective layer of polarized plating putting the icing on the cake.

They had done it to her again. They'd managed to surprise her after she swore they wouldn't do it again.

"Where was this stuff a year ago?" she said to no one in particular.

Lieutenant Corwin merely raised an eyebrow.

**00-00**

Eighteen hours…

That's how long it took.

Eighteen hours filled with arguments, deals, diplomacy, pleading, agreements, insults and a healthy number of threats could burn a man out. If anyone had even hinted that there could be days like this in his life, he would have never accepted this posting. The complexities here were almost too much for a man to handle. But handled it he did, because he was not alone not by any means.

There had been a quick debate raging between his mind and body as to whether he would take his cloths off or not, before he crashed into his bed. His jacket missed the chair next to his bed but he didn't care. Somehow, he got out of his pants before he fell into unconsciousness. The socks remained where they were. A few moments later he began to dream as his mind began its own journey towards relaxation, trying to sort out the day's events. Visions of Shadows, Vorlons, Sinhindrea, Starships and a burning Mars danced within them. And there was a small voice there, an alien one, yet a familiar one like his father's…

"Sleep well, young one," Kosh whispered in the dark. And Captain John Sheridan dreamed-

"Kosh, why are you here? Am I dreaming?"

"There has been a terrible incident, young one. Sleep now, no one will disturb you until the time is right."

"What happened?" John asked.

"I will show you and then you will rest," the Vorlon ordered. "You will be needed. You are the glue, the others the string. Together there is a chance that things will hold together."

**00-00**

While Ambassador Kosh isolated himself safeguarding the mind and body of the Human called John Sheridan, another Kosh, the leader of what was left of the Vorlon Empire conferred with his once enemy. These two ancient adversaries would never be completely comfortable around one another; however this day had been exceptional. The Shadow Lord waited patiently for the Vorlon to speak. And when the Vorlon seemed to have trouble forming the words, the Shadow Lord choose to initiate the conversation.

"What do you want?" she asked with amusement.

The Vorlon Lord, Kosh began radiating anger. "Never ask me that!"

The Shadow Lord gave the Vorlon the equivalent of a smile. "Then, what is it that we want?" it asked.

These creatures never changed the Vorlon thought venomously. "The younger races in our charge will not prevail."

"Whose fault is that?" she asked. "We wanted to make them stronger. You wanted to make sure that they would obey. Our game is over and my belief has prevailed. They are stronger."

"They are not strong enough."

"With our help," the Shadow Lord said, "and their numbers, we can stop the plague that has been unleashed in our universe because of your foolish god complex. You should have warned us of the danger."

"Who are you to have listened to our warnings?"

The Shadow deflated a bit because the Vorlon was correct. "Our people will be diminished even further in continued war against the Sinhindrea. There are many who wish to flee to the Rim. The nexus of realities calls us. A new existence beacons our people. But Lorien's promise forces us to stay. "

"Then you will fight."

"We will fight," the Shadow confirmed. "However, the young ones will shed their blood for us."

The Vorlon glared at the Shadow Lord. "You care nothing for them."

"As if you did," She hissed back. "They are tools, nothing more. Lorien has never understood this. If they live, or die it means little to the ways of the universe. But we will fight because we choose revenge for what the Sinhindrea has done to us. Then most of us that remain will go to be with the others, those that have left us behind and we will not be alone anymore. For this reason alone we will fight side by side with your wretched species."

"We agree. But-"

"But," the Shadow Lord said. "There is the matter of the Humans. They are unstable."

"They move too fast," the Vorlon Lord said. "They advance too quickly."

"The Earthers are an affront to our honor. They have defied our will. The plague will continue and when they die."

"If they die," the Vorlon corrected.

"When they die," the Shadow Lord repeated, "then we will be satisfied. Vorlon, do you understand?"

"Yes. You saw the Federation demonstration?"

The Shadow's eyes glowed brightly. The ship called _Voyager_ was as dangerous as anything her people had ever seen. "They are strong. They are too much of a threat to be allowed to spread their beliefs."

"They are too strong, too arrogant, and too willful; with no respect for their elders. My people will find them wherever they are and destroy their Federation, then we will go to the Rim. Their social and biological evolution is unnatural. They should be removed as a malignancy is removed."

"What you want Vorlon, is retribution not preservation."

"Who are you to ask about retribution?"

"Simply an interested party," the Shadow Lord intoned. "They, their Klingon allies, and the Earthers destroyed your plans. The Minbari helped."

The Vorlon looked at the Shadow Lord in surprise. "The Minbari have rejected our guidance. They will be left to their own devices."

"Then, are we in agreement?"

"We are in agreement. We will protect one another when we face the Yonji Sinhindrea. What must be done will be done."

"As the young ones have chosen not to heed us, we chose to leave them to the will of the universe. When the mountain falls, the pebbles can only be crushed."

"Especially since you will not be around to dig them out." The Shadow's eyes glowed brightly once more.

"The Vorlon bowed slightly. "Yes."

**00-00**

The news of the attack arrived six hours later. The Grey Council received the news at the same time as the other Alyts at _Babylon Five_. The city of Yedor, the capital of Minbar had been destroyed. Close to ninety million people had died from the assault by the Sinhindrea. Minbari defenses had been insufficient to halt their advance. Six out of ten enemy warships had been destroyed. One vessel succeeded in forcing its way close enough to fire its pulse weapons onto Minbar. It then turned and departed with the other enemy ships, leaving twenty-seven ships-of-the-line destroyed and another forty six damaged beyond repair.

"Why did they do it?" Neroon screamed. "I thought that Earth was their primary target, that we had time to prepare? Why did they attack us?"

That was the question on everyone's mind. Surprisingly, it was Alyt Rannaonn who was cool enough to provide answers.

"It was a message. A threat. They want us to stay out of the fight to protect the Earth. They want us so concerned, that we protect our own interests against them. We have the most ships, the most firepower and they know it. They want the other races frightened and divided, everyone concerned for their own interests. Because then there is no hope. They also wanted to show us that compared to them, we are nothing."

"They attacked Minbar directly," Neroon continued, following Rannaonn's train of thought. "Our ships were unable to protect our people against them. And they are correct. We must defend the Federation at all costs!"

"But if we separate ourselves from the younger races now, then we shall all fall," Delenn said. "Rannaonn is correct in his assessments. We must come together with them as never before."

"All of our resources must be used to protect our own!"

Delenn listened as the two Minbari males argued. Each had very valid points. Knowing what had happened, how could the Grey Council not respond by protecting their own people? The Sinhindrea played the game well. It was very possible that her people would close in upon themselves in order to protect their own. If that happened and it seemed more likely by the second, everything would be lost before they could even start.

"We could ask the Vorlons for help," another of the Grey Council suggested timidly.

"We've had enough of their manipulations. We've had enough of their help. They created this mess," Rannaonn hissed. "We may have to swallow our collective pride and as the others for help."

"They all have their own difficulties," Neroon countered. "Do we really want to ask for help from those who humiliated us? Will we, the Minbari, beg for help from the Soul Hunters and the Centauri and those others?

"By the '_others'_, you mean Garrett and Federationists," stated Rannaonn. "Yes," he answered with hesitation. "Why not? Is our pride so strong that we will allow genocide to have its way with our people?"

Neroon stared at him as if he were a total stranger. Was this the same person that so recently wanted to kill the Federationists and take what he wanted? "The Vorlons are no longer able to guide us,' Neroon said. Even as he spoke the words he found himself fighting against expressing negativity against the Vorlons. "The others are not strong enough."

"And whose fault is that?" Delenn asked. She didn't expect an answer. They all know who was responsible.

"We must find our own way," said the same council member who had spoken previously.

"We must join with the others," Rannaonn countered.

"Strange as it seems, I agree with you, Neroon said. "But the Grey Council will very well decide to protect our own as we have done for the last thousand years."

"Our pride will doom us all," was Rannaonn's retort. "We've never encountered something like this before and I think we, as a people, are to rigid to our way through this unknown path.

"Then what are we going to do?" Delenn asked of them all.

The only response that greeted her was silence.

Rannaonn looked at them all. "We come together, all of us. We will talk to Draal and become the light that we have always claimed we were."

**00-00**

"Eighteen Hours is now done. Notice that I split it up into different chapters. This was done only to balance it with the other shite. Therefore please consider chapters 36-39 a single chapter.

Take care,

AlbertG

On to the next section


	49. Chapter 40 Alpha

**Okay people: I am calling this 'A matter of Conscious'. It is a separate story involving the Kobayashi Maru scenario. Many people have asked me concerning Susan Ivanova and her 'test' so I did this short story to give the readers an idea of how that little exercise went-with a twist. Please enjoy. I am calling this chapter 40 but it's really a background story. The main story will continue next chapter. Please enjoy. **

**AlbertG **

**Chapter 40-side story**

"_**A Matter of Conscious"**_

_**Three days post Yedor:**_

_**Babylon Five:**_

'_What a supreme pain in the butt'. _

Those were the first thoughts of Commander Susan Ivanova as Alyt Shaka strolled towards her with his usual arrogant stride that she personally believed that was reserved for her eyes alone. His arrogance had been somewhat subdued by the news that Yedor, the capital city of Minbar had been all but destroyed by the extra-dimensional aliens called the Yonji Sinhindrea. And, it required an order from the Grey Council itself to keep him from returning directly to Minbar a distance of almost two weeks from the _Babylon Five_ station. Susan understood the sentiment but there was really nothing that he could do at the time. The Sinhindrea had temporarily withdrawn and the entire Minbari fleet and their reserves were being mobilized in what was being nicknamed the 'War of Our Times'. In the thousand years since the last Great War, no Minbari world or protectorate had been successfully attacked. But within the last few months, death and destruction had visited them in the form of the Drakh, and now the Sinhindrea. The people of Minbar were in an uproar.

Simply put, they were afraid.

'_Welcome to the club'_ Susan thought viciously. Everyone else was terrified these days, so why not them? The Vorlons had had their butts handed to them by the Shadows and in turn, the Shadows had been savaged by the Sinhindrea. Earth had fought against the Centauri and Drakh and the Sinhindrea. The Narns lost to the Centauri. The Centauri had been hit by Earth and the Sinhindrea. The list went on and on. This constant fighting was draining everyone's resources. Thank God, most of the people were now coming to their senses. By some miracle (with a bit of blackmail added for flavoring), Sheridan had managed to get the most bitter of enemies to sign an agreement to work together against a common enemy. And who knew? Maybe if they all survived this coalition would hold together even long than anyone suspected.

But not if she had to put up with this clown for too much longer. "I am glad you could make it, Alyt Shaka," she said politely as he stormed into her presence.

"I am only here to facilitate peace between our people," he sneered.

She smiled blandly at him. He was as polite as ever.

But the one next to him, Alyt Aalaan, was different. His demeanor, his attitude was a striking contrast to his comrade-in-arms. The Minbari Commander was tense, wanting to strike back against the enemy of his people, but he was smart enough to wait for the right time. Alyt Rannaonn followed the other two Alyts, smiling as if understanding a joke that only he'd heard.

'I'm glad you could make it on such short notice," she said respectfully. And, although it seemed to hurt Shaka to do so, in turn the three bowed to her. "Please follow me to our main holo-suite."

She led them to a set of large doors and the four of them walked into a strange room whose décor left something to be desired. The green colored room only redeeming factor was that it was decorated with yellow stripes-and nothing else.

"We'll be ready in a moment," Susan said. "I have to make some final preparations before we begin."

She left quickly, leaving the three Minbari on to themselves for a few moments.

The doors hadn't even closed before Shaka had turned his wrathful gaze at Alyt Rannaonn. "Your defeat by the Earther ship couldn't have come at a worse time," he bellowed. "The honor of our people lay in shreds because of your incompetence. Our people have suffered grievously and your recent humiliation hasn't helped one bit."

Alyt looked at the angry Commander with something akin to pity. "That, Alyt is not an Earth vessel, but a Federation starship," he corrected. "It is somewhat different."

"Semantics," the Alyt hissed. "_Blood_ _of Saints_ is a top of the line warship. You should have been able to destroy that vessel with ease."

"You weren't there," Rannaonn testily countered. "And if you were, you and your pompous attitude would have made our so-called humiliation even worse."

"I would have won. Or I would have destroyed us both to maintain our honor."

"You would have lost and most likely be dead right now. The _Ambassador_ is stronger than our mightiest _Sharlins_," he admitted. Both Alyts looked at him, surprised at his admission. "I have learned so much in the last few days. For a thousand years we have allowed ourselves to believe that we were the best, the most powerful of the younger races. We were deluding ourselves," and with that statement he raised his hand to forestall the inevitable response. "We have become complacent, isolated and prideful. We have seen how the Drakh are our equals in knowledge and power, yet we refused to acknowledge that reality as such, lest our pride be hurt. We haven't made a significant technological advance in centuries. Instead of seeking way of improving what we have, we've become stagnant, Shaka."

Shaka laughed heartily. "And I thought that the Star Riders were better than even the mighty Wind Swords."

"Have a care," Rannaonn whispered dangerously. "I have witnessed things that your feeble brain could barely understand. I have seen the lies of the Vorlons and have evidence of what they have done to our people. I have seen technology that rivals the best that we have to offer. I have talked a First One that has a sense of humor."

"What First One?" asked Shaka. Again, his response was more of a sneer, but his curiosity had been peeked by Rannaonn's comment.

"The one the Federation ship-"

"Them again? What First One in their right mind would associate with them?" he asked in genuine curiosity.

Rannaonn merely shook his head. Shaka's mind couldn't even fully wrap around the concept. "You would be surprise," he said finally. "And I will introduce you to him when this is over."

Aalaan had said nothing, content to let the two Alyts argue. It was fascinating how two people, who had never met before, could develop such an instant dislike for one another. But he too felt as sense of humiliation at one of Minbar's finest being defeated so completely and easily. However he had also been granted the opportunity to do a quick tour of the _Voyager_ warship, an eye-opening to say the least. And he enjoyed every second of it, even talking to the multi-diverse crew was illuminating. But now, after all of that, here on _Babylon Five_, this room seemed somehow anti-climatic. He turned as the doors opened once more and Ivanova stepped in.

"I am sorry about the wait," she told them. "But I wanted make sure that all of the programming had been completed and I invited a friend of mine to assist me," she added, pointing to a one Marcus Cole. He bowed deeply and said greetings in Minbari. Pleased, the Minbari returned the salute. "We've done a fast upgrade to the programming," she continued, "and I wanted to confirm that it was finished before we tried it. This is called a holosuite. Normally we use the room as a restaurant, and also as conference center. Occasionally we used it for large-scale training which works very well for us. And now, with the presence of _Voyager,_ we've been able to upgrade the specs quite a lot."

"Must be a new shade of green," mumbled Shaka. "I imagine using this décor as the dining area allows for rapid movement of patrons."

Susan smiled and almost said something, but held back. Instead, she said, "This is a tactical simulation in which we will encounter an unknown enemy. We will work together and try to survive. This program will give you insights on Federation technology and will give us some idea how well we can work with one another," she said blandly."

Aalaan and the other two Alyts looked at her, expecting to receive helmets and eyewear to enhance the experience.

"Computer, start pre-_Kobayashi Maru_ scenario 2.0.

The room changed from a dull cube into the last thing he'd imagined seeing.

Aalaan reeled at what he was seeing. One moment he was in a checkered green and yellow room. The next instant he was standing on a detailed _Sharlin_ bridge, filled with bridge crew and warriors. Alyts Shaka and Rannaonn were equally stunned turning quickly trying to determine if what they were seeing was to be believed. Rannaonn had had some experience with the holodecks, but this had surprised even him. The amount of detail was extremely disturbing because of what it implied- that the Federation ships were able to scan Minbari vessels.

Next to them, Susan stood smirking, or rather, trying not to. "Alyts," she announced. "You can each have your own vessel to command or you can share one ship. Take your time and decide. Once you make your decision then we will start the simulation."

"How?" Aalann stuttered. The people were simulations? But they looked so real!

"That's Federation technology for you. Their use of light and force fields is very good. You should see their waterfalls."

"We each want our own ships," Shaka said softly.

His voice, Aalann noticed was a lot less arrogant than it was a few moments ago.

"Okay," said the Human Commander. "Computer, we will command separate ships. _Sharlins_ for the Minbari, and _Whitestar_ _One_ for myself."

"Specify threat perimeter," the computer said.

"Random choice, for a change." Susan ordered.

"Acknowledged."

The next moment all five of the participants found themselves in the vessels of their choice.

Aalaan sat in his chair, stunned that he could do so in the first place. You weren't supposed to be able to sit on a holographic chair! He opened a channel to Alyts Rannaonn and Shaka, almost praying that the buttons wouldn't work. They did.

When he looked at their faces, both Minbari warriors appeared to be as shocked as he was.

"In Valen's name, this is madness," whispered Shaka in complete awe. "How can they do this?"

Trying to remain as neutral as possible, Commander Ivanova allowed the three males a few moments to absorb the impact of just what they were witnessing. Even Rannaonn, who had witnessed holodeck technology before, was somewhat surprised by the detail shown in the simulations. She had been taken back a little herself and she'd known what was coming. But the Commander could see the subtle difference between the earlier programming and this. The people on her _Whitestar_ felt more real and were responding to her as if they were real. _Enterprise's_ programming was extraordinary; the holographic magnificent. But there was a stiffness of the characters inherent of that same programming. The holo-waiters looked real but you could tell them from real people. _Voyager's_ updated engineering and software turned the extraordinary into the real.

"Commander Ivanova," said Shaka. "I will admit that your holographic technology appears to be – adequate."

After a few more moments for her guests to become acquainted with their surroundings she spoke once more. "Gentlemen, we will start out with a little rescue mission. Reports are that a ship called the '_Kobayashi Maru_ is being attacked by pirates near Minbari space. _Whitestar_ Three is closest vessel and is preparing to rescue the freighter. Your three _Sharlins_ are four minutes away from assistance."

"Hardly a challenge," Shaka sniffed.

However, Rannaonn and Aalaan were glaring at her through hooded eyes each trying to divine what was going on in her mind. A simulation this detailed would anything 'but' simple. Both Alyts nodded to one another and there was a synergy that passed between the two of them that Shaka had completely missed.

In their respective bridges, each Alyt witnessed the battle between the _Whitestar_ and the pirate ships. The small fighters had fired on a large, cumbersome Earther transport, whose name, _Kobayashi Maru_ was boldly emblazoned on its hull. The ship had some damage as the pirates swooped passed, using primitive, but effective lasers to slice into the defenseless ship. _Whitestar_ _One's _Commander demanded the pirate's surrender, which was ignored by the attackers. The Commander began firing her secondary weapons as soon as she got into range. Two of the twelve pirate ships burst into individual components as soon as the beams touched them.

As if obeying one voice, the other pirates attacked their tormentor. The small, fast moving fighters swarmed the _WhiteStar_, trying to score hits. However, to the surprise of the Minbari watching, the ship had defensive shields and shrugged off all attacks by missiles and energy beams with impunity. In a matter of moments, the ruined fighters were trying to get away as fast as their ships could take them, with the _Whitestar_ following them, continuing to deplete their ranks. There was the characteristic flash of a jump point opening up and the pirate mother ship entered normal space firing on the Minbari/Vorlon hybrid vessel. It soon found itself in trouble as Susan's ship began carving into its armored hull.

Meanwhile, the _Kobayashi Maru_ was fleeing away from the fighting heading towards the nearest jumpgate in the sector and was soon out of sight. The three Minbari jumped into normal space some twelve light seconds behind the _Whitestar_. _Whitestar_ _Three_ had run a bit of difficulty as suddenly two mother ships had trapped it in crossfire. Upon seeing three _Sharlins_, both pirate mother ships abandoned what was left of their fighter corps and fled. The first mother ship had lost his jump engines and soon surrendered as a Minbari beam crossed its bow. The other pirate was still running, engines out full. Alyt Shaka's ship moved ahead, and firing his main weapons, sliced the ship in half. There was no request for surrender, and no mercy. His satisfied smirk said it all.

"Thank you for the assist," Ivanova said with as much venom as she could muster. She did not like simple slaughter for its own sake. His approach of shoot first and watch the debris float away was not an approach she appreciated.

"Hardly worth the effort, Commander," Shaka responded. "This program although up to acceptable standards leaves something to be desired in its execution. Rather boring really. It lacks imagination."

Susan opened her mouth to through a scathing insult when the Captain of the _Maru_ was online once more screaming.

"Help us!" he yelled. "Somebody help us!"

Susan answered immediately. "We're on our way. Identify the problem."

"It's s vessel of some kind. It's huge! It appeared out of nowhere and is headed straight for us! It's going to smash into us. We can't get away!"

Alyt Aalaan shuddered at the image on his screen. The ship, if it could be described as such, was massive. The _Kobayashi Maru_ was attempting to get out of the way, but powerful scans from the ship had interfered with its already taxed systems. The ship was three minutes away from being smashed like a bug on a windshield. And the alien ship showed no signs of slowing down. Some sort of attractor beam had grabbed the _Maru_ and slowly pulling the ship towards a mammoth opening as if to swallow the entire ship.

They had two minutes to decide what to do. Commander Ivanova was yelling into communications for the unidentified vessel to stop. Those requests were being ignored, but the response from the vessel chilled his soul. There was a face to go with the voice. It was a pallid gray humanoid face, emotionless, cold, calculating and utterly confident of its position. The laser pointer located next to the creature's eye only served to increase the instinctual dread he felt.

"Isn't that Captain Picard?" whispered Rannaonn, looking at the face before him. The more he stared at the image before him, the more he was convinced that it was Picard.

"We are Locutus of Borg," thousands of voices said as if they were a single will projecting through the voice of one being speaking to them. "You will disarm your weapons and surrender your ships. You will the escort us to the homeworld of the Minbari Federation. WE will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Life as it has been is over. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."

'_Ah, a credible threat,'_ Aalaan thought._ 'These must be the threats that the Federation faces in their sectors of space. This should be an interesting test of our abilities'. _"I am Alyt Aalaan of the Minbari Federation. You will release the Earther ship and remove yourself from this area of space or we will fire on your ship."

Locutus responded as coldly as if he were the mechanical device he resembled. "Your demands are irrelevant. You will comply." Then he repeated, "Resistance is futile, Alyt Aalaan."

"We shall see."

By Valen name, he loved every moment of this! This simulation was so real he felt himself being lost to the moment. He turned to his Second who gave the order to advance. "All _Nials_ launch. All weapons to full power, stealth field at maximum."

The Three _Sharlins_ and forty-five _Nials_ began their advance.

Commander Ivanova had never seen anything remotely like this vessel. The simulation that Garret had originally introduced to her always used either the Romulans or Klingons as the principle instigators. And the _Maru_ usually turned out to be a fake distress call or the ship had been destroyed already. Winning had nothing to do with the success or failure of the test. How one responded to the crisis was what was important here. After the second try, she understood that this was designed to test one's character. What was more important, her crew or the people she was trying to save?

That was one of the main challenges of this exercise. How far would one go to endanger one's crew or save strangers knowing that it may be a trap? There was very little that her small ship could do against such a monster, but she could save the people onboard. Next to her Marcus, acting as her First Officer, turned to her, awaiting her orders.

"Just how big is that thing?"

Marcus took a look at the data feed and blanched. "Length, width and height are the same - three thousand three hundred, six meters. No weapons ports that we can detect. But we do know that it has high-energy tractor beams like the Federation. I imagine that the armor is quite thick." His eyebrows rose slightly at the understatement.

Susan didn't even bother responding. The man could be so irritating some times. But that irritation, among other traits had a way of touching her soul, therefore she didn't complain. They were going out tonight anyway and since he was paying, she didn't want to aggravate him. Marcus seemed nervous when Susan ordered the pilot to make a dash for the cube. _Whitestar Three_ accelerated towards the cubical ship, shields at full.

"Don't fire unless they shoot first," Susan ordered. "If we can keep from being shot at, so much the better. Ready transporters. I want to do this nice and quick. Then we run as fast as we can away from this monstrosity."

_Whitestar Three _arced gracefully into transporter range and began transport. However to Susan's dismay, they were able to transport only two from the freighter."

"Transporter is being blocked," Marcus said. "I don't know how they're doing it. Oh, oh. They're firing!"

The spacecraft shook violently as energy beams of unknown type hammered the shield. The cube lashed out with a tractor beam that stopped the _Whitestar_ movement cold as it proceeded to drain the shields. The _Maru_ was hit with a white-hot laser which proceeded to carve the _Maru_ into pieces. Those pieces were then taken into the ship by another tractor beam.

Susan and Marcus were horrified. The cube was consuming the _Maru_ as if it were a steak dinner. "Return fire!" ordered an enraged Ivanova. "Fire everything we've got!"

The _Whitestar_ fired secondary and main weapons at the origins of the tractor beams. White-hot energy poured over the cube's emitters with no effect. And as the cube continued to consume the _Kobayashi Maru_, it turned slightly as if focusing more power onto the _Whitestar_ that was trying its best to break free. It was as if I were saying, 'hold on a minute, I'll be right with you…"

"Shields are failing," a simulated Minbari female member in charge of navigation screamed. The panic in her voice and the looks in her eyes were so real that both Marcus and Susan forgot that this was simply a simulation.

"We're in range," Alyt Rannaonn announced. "Fire at the source of the beam."

His ship struck the cube first. Fusion beams accurately hit the emitter and a second later so did Shaka's weapons. Combined with the _Whitestar's_ continuing fire the emitter was overwhelmed and blew spectacularly. Commander Ivanova's ship was free but the Earth freighter was still hooked and being reeled in.

"I've got transporter lock!" Rannaonn heard over communications. "Seventeen people. Transporting now!"

Alyt Aalaan's _Sharlin_ fired its main weapons. All eighteen fusion and neutron cannons stuck the cube and it staggered slightly from the sheer firepower he brought to bear against it. He wasted no time and followed suit adding his own ship's weapons, striking with everything he had. Pieces of Borg ship flew off of the vessel.

Shaka moved forward hitting the cube with his weapons which included him firing his missiles at the vessel. What was left of the _Maru_, caught in the explosions, ceased to exist.

And Aalaan was enraged.

"You killed the very people we were trying to save," Rannaonn heard Aalaan yell.

"We couldn't save them," Shaka retorted. "They were better off dead. Neutralizing this Borg ship is the greater threat."

Commander Ivanova heard the callous response. "If they had been Minbari, would you have been so indifferent?"

Shaka, to Rannaonn's and Aalaan's shame chose not to answer. Instead: "We must destroy that-"

The next words were lost as the _Nials_ joined the attack. The Borg ship chose to ignore them in favor of the _Whitestar_. Susan was running trying to get breathing room. Aalaan tried to intercept.

Shaka saw Aalaan vectoring his _Sharlin_ to intercept the Borg ship. That alien vessel was impressive, however with as much firepower that was directed against it, it was only a matter of time before he and others could destroy the cube. So it came as a very rude surprise as a Borg energy beam blew Alyt Aalaan's ship from existence. The pulse beam simply tore apart the _Sharlin_ as if it were nothing.

His mouth dropped open. That should have been was impossible and what was more terrifying was that the Borg ship could be seen repairing itself as it fought. And his weapons-all of them were becoming ineffective. Belatedly, he realized that the Borg cube had shields as well.

For Shaka, time froze in that instant. That enemy ship, this entire simulation explained perfectly the reasons why the Federation ships required so much power. They had to be powerful in order to fight enemies like this. It dawned on him that maybe there was more to learn from these Humans than he had first assumed.

These Borg had said that they wanted to assimilate his homeworld. He didn't know what that meant, but he instinctively knew that he didn't want to find out either. Rannaonn's _Sharlin_ had been badly hit, two of the stabilizers were damaged and he saw several decks onboard had undergone explosive decompression. Shaka's blood now ran cold as he saw what Rannaonn was about to do.

"No!" he screamed as Rannaonn's _Sharlin_ accelerated as much as it could and smashed into the cube which did not try to avoid this final attack. Shaka screamed once more as he saw that the explosive sacrifice had done nothing to damage the now fully repaired cube. The _Whitestar_ had managed to fire one last time and for its effort it was blown apart. His _Sharlin_ was all alone. The cube didn't even slow down as it now raced for his ship at a speed faster than anything he'd ever seen.

"Open a jump point! Now!"

"We can't!" his Second-in-Command replied angrily. "Something is interfering with the formation of the hyperspace window."

A Borg beam hit his ship, rocking the whole vessel and he expected to die. His weapons were completely ineffectual and now, the singularity engines were damaged and non-functioning. His entire bridge was plunged into darkness as power died. A moment later, to his joy, the emergency lighting kicked in. There was smoke, real smoke, on the bridge. Some of the holographic crewmen were bleeding from various wounds. Then a new sound, something that he'd only heard in Minbari simulations, cut through the silence. That sound paralyzed him for an instant.

It was blare of the intruder alert signal.

"We've been invaded," once of the crewmembers yelled.

"Repel invaders," Shaka yelled out. There was a grim sense of satisfaction as the crew did their duties. As one they were preparing their own personal weapons. They were performing well and he felt an irrational sense of pride as they armed themselves and tried to get the ship's weapons online. The holograms acted just like a real crew.

Then his heart fluttered.

"They're coming through the walls!" someone had screamed.

Over all communication channels, there were the sounds of fighting and screaming. Shaka turned, and whipped out his staff as a flickering silhouette appeared on the bridge. The crew attacked instantly, killing the intruders that strangely had offered very little resistance. There were more shimmers as more Borg transported onto the bridge. This time the PPG and weapons fire were blocked by what Shaka assumed were personal shields generated by the invaders. Minbari warriors were thrown everywhere as the Borg attacked. After resistance was removed, the mechanical creatures began jabbing the subdued crew with hypodermic type extensions from their wrists. His violated people screamed in agony as their skin color began to change into a pasty dull gray. Then small metallic protrusions erupted from their skin-

Shaka didn't wait to see what else occurred to those unfortunate people. Instead, he was running for an escape pod. Nothing was worth becoming what the crew were being changed into. His mind understood perfectly that this was only a trick of light and energy, a holographic simulation, but his heart shrieked 'run, this is real!' The heart's passion won over the mind's logic and he fled.

The shame that he felt right at this moment was conclusive proof of Ivanova's treachery and that she had intended from the start to kill the three of them in order to achieve some misplaced revenge against the Minbari. Then she would claim that there was some type of mistake. When this was over, if he lived, he would extract his revenge on that Human female. How dare she try to murder members of the warrior elite with a game?

The escape pod was less than a meter away when he found he could not move any further. Something like a vise had gripped his entire being. He felt a tingling. Everything blurred, and suddenly he was somewhere other than his doomed ship.

He found himself in the center of an immense chamber filled with hundreds of other Minbari prisoners. And now his scream joined the others as he witnessed a sight that nearly drove him mad. His people were being processed like meat. There were limbs being sawed off without anesthesia, eyes being removed and being replaced with monstrous prosthetics. And the smell, the terrible smell inside this place was overpowering his senses. A hand grabbed his shoulder and callously twisted him around. Two of the Borg creatures stood in front of him. A third moved towards him. The creature was dressed in a black uniform that almost reminded him of the warrior's caste armor. Its skin was a pallid gray like the others of its kind.

"We are Locutus of Borg," the creature said slowly. "Your life as you have known it - is over."

From behind him, in the darkness, another figure moved into view. It appeared female, from what little he could see it. And her smile frightened him in a way he'd never believed possible.

"I am the Borg," she whispered in his trembling ear. "You have been chosen to represent your people to aid us in the assimilation process."

Surprisingly he found his voice as the abomination drew closer to him. "I'd rather die," Shaka snarled defiantly. "The Minbari people will never surrender."

"Death is irreverent," she said. "The Minbari will comply. You will comply."

Shaka stare mutely as her head and spine detached, connecting itself to cables and carried somewhere else, leaving the body to stand where it was. The one called Locutus moved closer and extended tubules from his wrist. Shaka felt those tubules strike him as if they were serpents and he screamed for the last time.

"_Kobayashi Maru_ scenario 2.0 completed. Full protection protocols restored."

Shaka willed his body to stop trembling.

The pain was gone.

The Borg creatures and their malevolent vessel had ceased to exist.

The ugly green and yellow rectangle room was back. It was the most beautiful room that he'd ever seen. Shaken to his core, he flopped noisily onto the floor.

Behind him, the previously 'dead' participants stared at him, equally stunned. No one was speaking. Even Ivanova seemed shaken and sickened by the experience.

"Computer," she demanded. She had been frightened and surprised by this unexpected turn of events. "What was that simulation and who is this Locutus character that attacked us? Who are the Borg?"

"The _Kobayashi Maru_ scenario applying random program generator as requested," the computer said. Its voice contained a mixture of warmth and indifference which irritated Susan the more she heard it. Captain Jean- Luc Picard was assimilated and designated Locutus by the Borg collective in the year twenty-three sixty-six. The crew of the USS NCC 1701 _Enterprise-D_ rescued Captain Picard and removed the Borg implants during the attack of Sector zero-zero one."

"Can you show us the battle?" Ivanova asked the computer.

"Negative. There is a file of the aftermath of Wolf 359 that can be accessed."

"Show it."

A holographic image of the _Enterprise-D_ appeared above them. They saw the vessel slowly moving through a debris field of ruined Federation and Klingon warships that was enough to sober everyone watching. Marcus stared at the images, saying nothing. Wolf 359 was an EarthAlliance name for a specific star system, yet the computer used the exact same designation. That was more than interesting he thought and he wondered if the Minbari had caught the reference. By the way Aalaan's eyes had flared, then narrowed, he had recognized that reference as well. But like him, the Alyt had said nothing.

"The Borg is a civilization of enhanced humanoids. The Borg exhibits a high degree of intelligence and drones are connected via subspace communications network forming a collective," the computer said, sounding more like someone's pre-prepared speech rather than a computer analysis. That was what it was. "Any race or technology that possesses attributes that the Borg believes will enhance their own biological and technological development they will assimilate. Their ability to adapt to any offensive and defensive strategic attack makes them formidable adversaries. The Federation considers them a major threat to the galaxy…"

The participants listened closely as the computer continued its exposition on the cybernetic organisms. When the computer's description was completed, Susan was simply shook her head.

"You've made you point, Human," Shaka said to Susan. "But it is not the one that you believe it to be."

Marcus interrupted for Susan could respond. "What do you think that the purpose of this simulation was for, Alyt Shaka?"

"Your little program cheated," he announced, looking at Susan. "No Minbari war ship could be so easily destroyed by one of those badly designed, cumbersome vessel. Its capabilities were exaggerated to make sure that we could never win under such conditions. It was designed to demonstrate weakness in Minbari military might. But your little entertainment failed, Commander."

"Nonsense," Rannaonn countered. "While these 'Borg' aliens are formidable, that was not the purpose of the simulation."

"I agree," Aalaan said. "Every Minbari who has taken the test has never spoken of it other than to say that this was a test of character."

Shaka was surprised by that. "None of them spoke of this test?" He looked perplexed. "But why? This is an insult to every Minbari warrior. Didn't they understand this?"

Aalaan turned to Susan and Marcus. "And what do you think of this test?"

"I am just thankful that those-things aren't here. We have enough trouble without bringing them into our little part of space."

"Spoken like a true Anla'shok," Rannaonn said.

"I hate no-win scenarios," Susan growled. Every time I take this stupid test, I wind of getting myself or the people I'm trying to rescue killed. I know it can be beaten, it's just a matter of finding out how."

"But it changes to insure your failure," said Shaka. "It does not give a reward for victory."

"Sometimes, there can be no reward for victory," Aalaan murmured. "Sometimes, the victory is in the way we handle ourselves."

"We should be ashamed," Rannaonn announced. "We, Shai Alyts, failed in every way possible."

"The-test-cheated," exclaimed Shaka. "There was no way to WIN!"

"Shaka, my friend," whispered Aalaan. "We weren't supposed to win."

"Then, what was the point?"

"Listen to me, Shaka," Aalaan said. "The simulation, or test, is designed to show us ourselves, how we think, how we respond to critical situations. We responded to the _Kobayashi Maru's_ distress call and we failed to rescue that ship. We were partially responsible for destroying it and killing the survivors."

"That was a Human vessel," Shaka sniffed. "It was already doomed. Those survivors should have been thankful that they were killed so quickly. You saw what those Borg creatures were doing to my crew!"

Alyt Shaka," Marcus said. "You fired on that Borg ship without any disregard to the _Maru_, or to us for that matter."

"You shouldn't have been in the way."

"Are you that dense?" screamed Susan who obviously had had enough of this, this hardheaded individual. "Is this how you're going treat your allies in the war? If it is, then I can assure you that no one is going to watch your back. You and your poor crew will be on your own in the middle of a firefight."

"No Minbari is ever is alone. The Wind Swords take care of themselves. Anyone not of Minbari blood is unimportant, especially Humans and their inferior technology." Shaka smiled while his companions looked ashamed to be near him. "I admit that Federation technology is more advanced, maybe even close to Minbari sciences; but, in the final analysis, we will be the ones who will be called upon to save this galaxy. The Vorlons, whatever their reasons, chose us, gave us the technology to be the defenders of space and we will continue to do so. The Sinhindrea will be crushed by our might. With the power of the Vorlons and the Shadows combined we can't fail. The other races are invited to join in the hunt, but they should stay out of our way when we go against our mutual enemy."

"I hate to tell you this, Alyt Shaka," Susan began, "but the Vorlons got their butts kicked by the Sinhindrea once before and the Shadows just got their hides handed to them recently. They both were ready to run away."

"But they didn't have us as allies at that time," Shaka stubbornly added. "And mark my words, all of you," he hissed. "The presence of this Human-based Federation will end in tragedy. If those Borg creatures are real, and if their power is anything like that simulation, then we will come under their scrutiny. It will be their fault for bring those things here." He turned to Rannaonn and continued.

"You were right. We need some of the technologies, specifically the shields and knowledge of their use of lights and force fields. If you had won the challenge, we would have it now and the security of Minbar would be assured. But instead, you, a Star Rider, failed when you were needed the most and became a slave to a Human! When this is over, I will personally make sure that the Human Federation does not hand their technology over to EarthAlliance. That cannot be allowed. Their threat is too great and if the Grey Council can't see this, then perhaps they should resign and allow those who do, lead."

And with that, he stalked out of the room.

Aalaan turned to Commander Ivanova, Shai Alyt Rannaonn, and Anla'shok Marcus Cole. "He does not understand," he said. "But I do. We could have never saved those people on the Earther ship. But we also did not work as a group. We attacked as individuals and were the worst for it. We allowed our own self-interests and prejudices to doom us. One of us should have been able to warn Minbar to the danger of the Borg. You have made your point, Commander. We must come together if we are to survive the Sinhindrea. I would like to practice with your EarthForce fighters and crews. Perhaps by our example, others may follow our lead."

"I have to talk to Captain Sheridan, but I think he would be honored. It would certainly help our alliance," she added. "Personally I don't trust the Shadows. I think they are going to try to stick a knife in our backs the first opportunity they get."

"The Vorlons as well," Rannaonn added. "Your people humiliated them in front of all of the younger races. They will not take that lightly. When _'Blood of Saints'_ is fully repaired, I will join in the exercises.

"I do have one question," Aalaan said.

"Go ahead," Susan said. "Ask."

"Computer," he said. "Where is sector zero-zero-one?" He smiled at a shocked Susan. She opened her mouth to speak but was too late the computer was already responding.

"Sector zero-zero-one is designated as the Sol system. Earth."

Aalaan smiled humorously at both humans and Alyt Rannaonn. "Earth- as in another reality." Now he was laughing. "I've heard the rumors and that was the only thing that fit all of the facts. The Sinhindrea are from another universe. Federation technology is different from anything known in our space. The Locutus-Picard connection was a mystery to me until the computer mentioned that this conflict happened more than ten years ago. Humans age quickly, but Picard looks the same. It could have been a computer error, but everything else I've seen was too precise. However, the other Humans in the small Vree-like ship are known to be from another universe."

Rannaonn stared at him as though he had lost his mind. "Computer, Chair."

He flopped onto the chair appeared before he hit the floor.

"What? Rannaonn? All of this time and you didn't even suspect?" Aalaan's laughter increased. "That is sad. All of the clues were in plain sight, just waiting to be found."

"Shai Alyt Aalaan…" Susan started.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "Your secret is safe. I saw how the Vorlons and Shadows acted against the Federation and I saw and heard what they've done to our people-all of us. I'll never reveal what I know until I am given permission."

"Thank you," she managed to say.

"There is a condition," he added. "I demand to have dinner with Captain Garrett, Captain Picard, Captain Sisko, Admiral Janeway and Delenn and Neroon. You all are invited, of course. I think we need to talk, here on _Babylon Five_ of course." He laughed once more. "After all isn't that what this station built for?"

"I'll see if they can manage to come."

Minbar, Earth and Centauri Prime have been attacked, its people slaughtered," Aalaan snapped. "Shaka was correct in one thing. The Minbari people are going to be at the forefront of this war. But we will have allies that are our equals. From the weakest race to the strongest, we will stand together. We have an agreement, but I intend to help make that agreement something that we can be proud of. The Sinhindrea are building up their strength. When they're ready, we better be as well. We do need the shields; the other races do need our armor and weapons technologies. We need what the Soul Hunters offer. We need everything if we're to survive this. We may not like one another, but this is our territory and no one is going to take it away from us. Speaking of which…" he turned away.

"Alyt Aalaan?"

"I must go to Shaka."

Rannaonn snorted. "He is going to be a liability."

"Shaka's head is forged in iron," Aalaan said, smiling at his joke. "What he has learned when he was young is now trapped there and nothing else can get in. There is nothing that we can do about that. But, he is a part of us and I have counted him to be my friend. I will not abandon him to himself."

"Good luck," snorted Marcus.

Valen's luck," Aalaan said. "I will need it."

A moment later, three people stared at one another. Susan smirked slightly.

"Anyone curious about the some of the other enemies of the Federation?" she almost laughed at how by Rannaonn and Marcus glared at her.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said quickly. "Computer, show us an enemy that the Federation is currently fighting."

An image of a nine-foot robotic figure with dual red-revolving eyes appeared in the middle of the room. It carried an energy rifle the size of a small cannon casually and a huge, wicked looking sword in the other. Two other seven-foot silver cyclopean warriors stood by its side. That there was another-one wearing robe-like clothing. It was only six and one half feet tall, but it appeared even more sinister than the others and that was quite an achievement.

All three people backed away from the unmoving figures.

"These are representatives of the Cylon Empire, a cybernetic race presently located in the Alpha quadrant," the computer said matter-of-factly. "Their ultimate objective is to exterminate the life form known as Man. That mandate has been extended to include all sentient organic life forms in the galaxy." The gold-colored warrior-elite holding the cannon robot turned slowly and faced the three people who were now very uncomfortable being in the same room as this killing machine. All of them began to back away.

"Are you Man?" it asked in dangerously, in a slow mechanical voice."

Commander Susan Ivanova could think of only one thing to say which summed up the situation quite nicely.

"Oh, sh..."

**Next: back to the main story.** Please not that there have been some corrections-editing and such. AG


	50. Chapter 41

_**Chapter 41**_

"**A Time to Sow"**

**The gateway: -Then**

It had been there since recorded time; a barely detectable weakness in the fabric of time and space. The Vorlons had always been in search of such spatial phenomena. They were exceedingly rare and even harder to utilize to their full potential. Many of these rifts had been found but all had been rejected, or deemed unacceptable for one reason or another. Many of those rifts led to places that were unfit to sustain life in any form but the Vorlons were undeterred. The search continued and lasted a thousand years before they found one that could be useful to them.

Only this dimensional space-time fracture had been deemed acceptable and the Vorlons applied all of their scientific theory, skills, and technology to explore that one rift. Not even with their advanced and ancient knowledge being utilized as their guide were they then enabled to fully understand the rift for what it was, because it had this annoying tendency of redefining itself seemingly at random. But the Vorlons knew enough to understand that there was some purpose for what they could only describe as a doorway. With their extensive testing and experimentation, lasting for over seven hundred years, they discovered that there was life on the other side. Psychic probes sent into the rift revealed life in such abundance that it exceeded anything that the Vorlons had previously imagined. It was a well-spring of life that literally erupted throughout this strange reality.

They were, of course wrong in their hypothesis of it being the well-spring of life. Beings, even older than they, had discovered the rift much earlier. They were the ones who seduced the Vorlons, and those creature of light had never even been aware if it. The only thing that the Vorlons understood was that this was a doorway into another universe another reality that beckoned them.

But the Vorlons couldn't discover a way to safely enter the rift. They never fully understood that the doorway discovered in the Courtor star system was part of a vast, multi-dimensional network extending through more than two hundred universes. The network was created by ancient races that made those who called themselves First Ones seem to be mere babes in comparison. And the most important thing they failed to discern was that they like thousands of other races before them had been specifically denied access by those same originators. So intent were they in trying to transverse the rift, that the Vorlons were completely ignorant of that little fact.

Failing to find ways to enter the rift safely, the Vorlons changed their approach. After intense scrutiny and debates among the greatest of their scientists and theoreticians, a viable solution to the problem was proposed. The proposal seemed deceptively easy, but it took another thousand years for the scientists and engineers to develop a practical design of the massive structure. Using their extensive understanding of hyperspace physics, they were able to create a hyperspace construct which would bridge hyperspace and this other, thirdspace into a safe conduit that would allow the Vorlons to safely enter and pass through to whatever existed on the other side.

The thirdspace doorway was created connecting the two realities together. However, it was not activated for the first time until the Courtor rift again returned to the state where life had been detected in such abundance. That life-bearing signature appeared twenty-seven standard years later and the doorway was permanently locked onto the coordinates. Now, no matter where the device was positioned it would always remain connected to the Courtor rift. Fearing that others might want to lay claim to their discovery, the Vorlons moved the device to a secluded area deep in their territory.

The life-bearing emanations coming from the device were strong. It sang to them of power and creation. Many of these First Ones believed that whatever was on the first side had to be the wellspring of creation. If they could just touch that, connect with the Creator, then they would become as the Creator was. In doing so, they would become the gods they convinced themselves of being.

The doorway to heaven was opened and the Beings of Light, expecting to touch the wellspring of life, discovered something else entirely.

**The gateway: -Now**

As of now, the gateway was unstable. Although it was built to last throughout the ages, it wasn't designed to be active for years at a time. Sinhindrea modifications to the gate on the other side had a destabilization effect on the structure and it was only a matter of time before the gate destroyed itself. The Worthy hadn't considered this a problem since their own transition would be a one way trip to the new feeding grounds. But what they couldn't predict was that the fog of war would interfere with their preparations.

That interference came in the form of cloaked, quantum mines, tens of thousands of them, effectively blocking both sides of the gates. Those self-replicating mines had been created by previously undiscovered and very dangerous races. Nothing could enter or exit without being obliterated. They were effectively cut off from the colonists on the other side and every tactic used to remove the mines had so far, failed.

The Clovien Lords on both sides were getting desperate. Clovien mind trackers on the other side of the gate had followed the human-scent of the creatures and had attacked one of their vessels. That vessel was not the primary target but their mind-taste was too similar to the other to be ignored. Both Clovien hunters were lost but valuable intelligence on the creatures had been gained. There was a world of those creatures, technologically primitive, waiting to be consumed. But the primary target survived another attack and now the danger to the colony had increased. If the primitives joined forces with their more technologically advance brethren, then the hated invisible mines would be least of the Worthy's problems.

After the battles with the ones called Shadows, many warships had been lost but at the time that had been of little concern, since many more warships were on their way. The colony had been thought to be safer than at any other time and the younglings were allowed to transit through first. But this new, previously unknown enemy managed to plant mines everywhere and the Sinhindrea could not get any closer than two thousand kilometers to the gate. The gateway had been denied them; however, they could still communicate with their prides on the other side.

**USS _Voyager_:**

In the conference room, Admiral Janeway, Captain Garrett, First Officer Tuvok and Captain Sisko sat while two representatives of the Soul Hunter sect nervously watched the people around them.

"Would you like anything, a beverage, something to eat?" Admiral Janeway asked the nervous Soul Hunter. To her, he seemed uncomfortable being seated and surrounded by people on an alien ship.

In fact, he was. All of the races feared and mistrusted his sect, but in contrast, these people didn't show any hint of that fear, just curiosity. And that was disturbing to him. But as uncomfortable as he was, his associate was even more frightened hiding that fear behind a veneer of haughtiness.

The Federation people were a true unknown, an anomaly wrapped within enigma. Some of the members had wanted to take those in question and examine them thoroughly, but others strongly cautioned against it. These people were as dangerous as the Minbari and there were other ways that they could get what they wanted.

"We have no need of sustenance at the moment," the younger Soul Hunter answered. "Thank you for your offer," he added as an afterthought. We would like to proceed so that we will not take up your time. For the technology we have offered we want something in return."

"You've stated that earlier but you didn't go into detail," Janeway said. She was trying to be as reassuring and non-threatening as she could. "Before we continue, do you have a name that we can call you by?"

"You could not pronounce our names. But I do understand the need for them at this time. You can call me 'The Younger' and my fellow, 'The Elder'".

"That's good," she answered. "What do you want?"

Both Soul Hunters shuddered at that question, causing both Janeway and Garrett some confusion.

"The question that you've just asked has always been a dangerous one," The Younger explained. "The beings we call the Shadows have used that question to their advantage and many races have been hurt or destroyed because of it. But to understand what we want, you must know that we are aware of your origins. Members of our sect have been secretly observing Z'ha'dum and the Sinhindrea expansion for some time now and saw this ship and the others when they entered the gateway. At first we thought our operative had made an error, but the evidence pointed to itself. Our sect is –sensitive to certain matters pertaining to what you would call the soul. We have detected that uniqueness in one of your Officers. In fact, this uniqueness has been detected among all of the Federation personnel originating from the three ships. However, only one from your vessel has shown this uniqueness. That person has been identified as Commander Riker."

"But," the Elder continued, "there are two Rikers sharing the same soul, but not sharing. We have determined that they are not twins. One Riker seems split but renewed; the other seems to have only half a soul but repaired. It is most confusing to us and we have never experienced anything like this. We pride ourselves in the understanding of the soul, but this is the first time we have encountered something so unique. We need to understand why these two are so unique. We want both of the Rikers. We wish to examine them."

Captain Garrett leaned forward. "Examine how?"

"There would be no danger to them," the Younger said quickly, before the Elder could say something. In his zeal, the Elder would have guaranteed no such thing and the talks would have ended prematurely. "We NEED to understand."

"We need to understand why they are so different," the Elder said. There was a tone of desperation in his voice. "These two souls go against everything we have ever understood. It gnaws at us. We want those two to increase our knowledge. And Captain Sisko," he added, "is so unlike anything we've ever seen - we must know what he is-why his soul casts such an aura. It calls to us."

"I've done a little background on your sect, Elder," Garrett said. "Apparently you're feared and hated throughout this region of space by everybody. They call you spirit thieves. You take what is not yours and you have forced your way into planets, ships and private properties, to take what you want. Why should we accede to your requests?"

Janeway glared at her counterpart but said nothing. The Captain had been in this space for a lot longer than she. So for now, she would trust Rachel's instincts.

Both of the Soul Hunters seem to deflate and started to leave. "You do not understand. This was not unexpected."

Garrett stopped them short. "This examination that you are requesting, what does it involve?"

"The simplest exam involves not pain," the Younger said. "That will give us the data we need so that we can study this phenomenon in detail. If we are unable to acquire this then we must reluctantly withdraw our offer."

"Gentlebeings," Garrett said. "For the past year and a half we have been examining and working on hyperspace physics and jump mechanics. We already have a functional prototype of a much smaller, much more powerful jump engine. We can give the plans to all of the governments here if we so choose. The reason why we haven't made it generally available is because of this isolationist attitude that's so prevalent among all of the races here. You're a prime example. Here you are, offering your services, at the time of what may be the greatest crisis that you ever faced; but only if it benefits your own personal gain. That is a recipe just begging for disaster. Personally I am sick of this, so, I want to change the conditions of this meeting," she stated. "From what little data I have been able to gather, your sect has been in space for a long, long time. But you're still searching for something. You don't believe in the afterlife, but you preserve souls, whether they want to be preserved or not. Is this correct?"

"Essentially, yes," the Elder admitted. "But you would not understand our holy mission."

"Vulcans do understand," Tuvok answered, surprising the Soul Hunters. "We are aware of the saving of what we call the katra. It can be preserved with the soul of another or it can be contained. It is a tradition among our people."

Now, surprise turned to shock. Both of the Hunters stared at the Vulcan. "Then you know…" No other races had ever been known to preserve soul-ever! Only the Soul Hunters had performed that sacred duty.

"Logic dictates that death is not the end, only a transition to some other plane of existence."

"But you may be wrong," the Elder said. "If we are right and there is nothing after death, then your preservation of your 'katra' serves exactly the same function as our own."

"I disagree," Tuvok responded. "There is direct evidence that non-existence is the not final answer."

"What evidence?" both Soul Hunters said in unison.

"It doesn't matter what evidence we have," Garrett cut in. "What does matter is that we come to an agreement. That cannot happen unless we develop a bit of trust here. Therefore, I want you to give us your technologies, Intel, and service right now, freely, with no conditions. I want you to do this knowing that we can refuse you, give you nothing in return. I want to know if you are willing to risk the death of untold billions in this galaxy on the chance that you might not get what you want."

"We must consult with our fellow members," the Elder said. "If we accept these conditions and receive nothing in return, our people will be most unhappy and the consequences would be most dire for all concerned."

Garrett simply shook her head. "That attitude is exactly why you have to do this of your own fee will. Your choice, your promises, your responsibility. No recriminations, no acts of violence. If you can't agree to this, you will certainly not get the information you want."

"We have no reason to trust you."

"We haven't given you a reason to distrust us," Janeway countered.

"We must consult with the others," the Elder said. "Is there a place where I can speak to my people privately?"

"Yes," Kathryn said. "You can use the smaller conference room over there," she answered, pointing out the direction to him. "There is a communicator available if you wish to use it."

He nodded and headed towards the room. The Younger although still somewhat anxious, seemed to handle the surroundings much better than his associate, a fact not unnoticed by the Starfleet personnel.

"Anything wrong?" Captain Sisko asked.

"It is strange to be invited into the home of an alien," he admitted. "The members of our sect are considered outcasts among the other races. Many times, they try to kill us."

"I wonder why," Sisko said loudly. "I have noticed the way you have watched me and I don't like it. I am not some new toy for your amusement, or to be part of some sort of collection."

The Soul Hunter seemed somewhat embarrassed. "Forgive me. But your aura is stronger than any I've seen other than the Vorlons and your Ambassador. She is another example of the remarkable number of unique souls gathered together. There are several examples of identical auras present not twins, but even closer. It is as if this ship and the others are a treasure beyond price, something that begs to be preserved at all costs."

"It is not your responsibly to protect us by preserving our essences," Ben answered. "It is ours and we are responsible for choosing what we do with them, not your sect. You justify it as preserving but you're stealing and interfering with the natural course of events. The soul needs to go where it should go."

"But what if we are right and there is nothing after death, would you want to continue?"

"Continue?" Ben asked him. "And continue doing what, exactly?"

The Younger stopped. "And doing what-what?"

Ben sighed and tried once more. "If you were to place my essence into a place of protection, a jar, whatever; what would happen then?"

"You would be able to talk to others who are being continued. Occasionally you would talk to us. You would be safe from death, nothing would change. You would continue."

"No," he answered flatly. "Whatever happens to my soul, spirit, essence, or whatever you wish to call it should be allowed to take place. What you offer is nothing less than eternal slavery and imprisonment to many of the spiritual essences that you have acquired. But have you ever thought of freely offering your services? I am sure that there are many individuals that would gladly consider your 'hospitality', if you would only ask."

"There are only a few souls that are truly worthy of our gift. Too many people fear death and would do anything to continue... If we were to offer our services to everyone, then our resources would be stretched to the limit. Quantity would overshadow quality."

"What you are trying explain to me is the nature of balance," Sisko told him. "Nature maintains a balance. It therefore stands to reason that the spiritual realm maintains a balance of its own. That is something that you are upsetting each time you collect an essence. I have seen glimpses what lies beyond what you call death and for all of your knowledge what you have failed to understand is that the soul is even more complicated that you know."

The Younger stared at him for a long moment. "You're speaking the truth!" he proclaimed with supreme certainty. "You know! How are you to be able see past this life?" The Younger seemed as if he were almost about to hyperventilate. "What have you seen?" stammered the Soul Hunter. "This is unprecedented. We must know!"

"Then ask," Sisko said. "We may tell you. You would be surprised at what we have to offer-if you are willing to trust us."

"I might even tell you of my experience with a soul devourer," Janeway added almost as an afterthought.

The Younger had some trouble standing and had to sit down. The Elder, just returning and hearing the last comment was staring daggers at the Admiral.

"Admiral," he asked. "May I?"

"For what?" she asked suspicious of his intentions.

"I carry with me a small device, not unlike a medical scanner," the Elder said. "I would like to scan you. There is no pain. There is no danger. You have my word on this."

Kathryn thought about it for a moment. She then nodded her agreement. "In the spirit of future trust between our two people, I will allow this."

"The Elder smiled the first real smile he had allowed himself. "In the spirit of future trust between your people and mine, I thank you." He quickly pulled out a small globe-shaped object which activated in the palm of his hand. It glowed brightly and he studied the data intently. When he finished, the Elder was quiet for a moment as he interpreted the results. "Admiral," he said softly. "The results are conclusive. Your spiritual essence has been tagged. The signal is weak, but it is there for those who know how to detect it."

"What do you mean tagged," Garrett asked. "As in someone has placed some sort of tracking agent on her soul?"

"Yes, exactly," the Elder said. "This is something new to my experience." He was very excited. "Can you explain what happened to you, how this happened?"

"We can discuss that in detail later – if we can come to an agreement."

Now it was the Elder's turn to sigh. The temptation was too strong, the lure too seductive. "We do not agree to this lightly. We have been isolated for so long. Rarely have we had the opportunity to simply talk to others." He handed Admiral Janeway a data crystal. "This is everything we promised." He stood back and apparently waited for the worst.

Janeway accepted it and place the crystal into once of the EarthForce computers given to them as their system were incompatible. She and the others carefully checked the information. The Admiral turned back to both of the Soul Hunters. "Thank you for your trust. We will reciprocate in full," she told them both.

--

Over the next few hours, the Soul Hunters and the Starfleet representatives sat and talked. During that time the sect was joined by three more of their kind. They talked about their mission concerning V'ger and its Children, the result of a complete blending of machine and Human. When the Soul Hunters saw the images of the Children and the raw power they possessed, their respect for the Starfleeters was notched up considerably. There was a very spirited discussion comparing the purpose of saving Vulcan katras versus the Soul Hunter preservation techniques. There was shock echoing through the Soul Hunters at the history of a Vulcan called Spock and the restoration of his katra into his restored body. The Soul Hunters tried to press for minute details, but the affair was classified and Genesis, the device that had regenerated Spock's radiation-ravaged body and created an entire solar system in the process, was not mentioned.

They were told of the Zetarians, non-corporeal entities who transcended into higher life-forms just as they were about to collectively die out as a race that searched for a living body to live out their lives. For some reason, the Soul Hunters seemed agitated about that information. In fact, after that portion of the talks, several discreet communications were passed between those on _Voyager_ and their companions onboard their shuttles.

The information on the transporters was a revelation that the sect members would analyze and discuss for decades to come. The representatives discussed the events onboard the predecessor of the ship called _Enterprise_ and a particular number of incidents involving a Captain, later Admiral James Kirk. The transporter literally split him into two complete, viable (if somewhat mentally unstable) entities. Those log entries were given to them as well. The data logs of Thomas and William Riker's transporter doubling was made available to them as well as the full relationship and incidents that brought the _Enterprise_ and _Ambassador_ here. Although the Sect was highly interested by the transporter itself, that technology would not be shared or discussed in detail, much to the chagrin of the Hunters.

They spoke of Kirk's encounters the ancient being called Sargon, who saved a few of his people including his wife, by placing their powerful spiritual essences or souls in globes that survived a half million years before they were discovered. That had their complete attention. That information was quietly, but intensely absorbed by the humanoids and they pressed for more information. As much data as was available was given to them. Whether Sargon and his people survived the globes destruction was unknown. There was some speculation that they went into oblivion, but others suspected that they now roamed the universe as freed energy beings.

They were also told about the Organians, the Metrons, the Medusans and a dozen other beings that had to be designated First Ones. They were also told of the Q. Garrett and Sisko seemed interested in those entities as well, especially Q. The Soul Hunters were stunned at the number of interactions by the Federation with First Ones. When asked about that, the response was that those elder species were apparently more active participants than in this universe.

The Soul Hunters were a bit overwhelmed by it all. The vast amounts of information given them were a treasure beyond their wildest expectations. But it was the trust that the Federation had offered them that affected them the most.

"I am curious, Admiral," the Younger asked. "How long has your Federation been in existence?"

"Not quite three hundred years."

"So short a time?" Both of the Hunters were surprised. "But how long has Humanity been able to travel the stars?" he asked.

"About four hundred fifty or so years."

And again the Hunters were shocked. "But, I don't understand. Your technology; your knowledge base; why is it so advanced? Three hundred and fifty years is nothing. The Minbari have been in space for a thousand years and the years are considerably longer for my people. Our tech base and knowledge of our universe is far less in comparison to yours. It's rather perplexing."

"The coming together of different races, each sharing their knowledge with everyone else is the reason why we've prospered. All of the species of the Federation, some of whom you would consider First Ones, have come together, allowing us to continually advance our sciences in all fields, unhindered. It has allowed us to develop at a much faster rate than if we were isolated, individual races."

"With at that rate of growth, you should have destroyed yourselves," the Elder said. "The Vorlons have said this and we have seen evidence of this time and time again. But you haven't."

"And hopefully, we won't," Janeway responded easily. "In this place, the opposite seems to be true. Everyone fends for themselves."

"It is the way of things. And there are forces conspiring to make sure it remains a truth."

"The Vorlons and Shadows must never know your origins," the Elder said. He was sitting now, unusually relaxed in the presence of those not his kind. "They will exact vengeance for what you have done to them, if they can."

"Yes," Janeway answered. "We're aware of that but we also have an ace up our sleeves." The Soul Hunter looked at her, not fully understanding the idiom. "It means," she said, "that we're protected."

The Soul Hunter merely looked at the Human and nodded once. "My people would love to speak with you again if it is permitted. This time with you has been enlightening, as well as somewhat frightening, I'll admit. There is much to think about in the coming days and years. But your openness and acceptance of us has also been – encouraging. We will continue to give intelligence and aid as necessary – of our own free will. We may even consider altering some of our – approaches. But we will also prepare to give you full exchange of cultural data on ourselves and all of the races we have encountered as you have suggested earlier."

"I hope that your people can join the wider community," Janeway said, "without fear from either side."

"Maybe," he answered. "One day. But there is one thing that I can do for you."

He took the small globe out once more and passed it back and forth over Janeway. "The tracer attached to your spiritual essence has been removed. You will not have to worry about those things that come into your dreams again."

"Thank you," was all she managed to say. That weight had been lifted from her and she was grateful not to have that concern in the back of her mind every time she went to sleep.

The Elder nodded. This had turned out to be a truly wonderful day.

Now, if only he could get Captain Sisko to explain why a First One would mate with his father. It was another mystery piled upon the others to consider. There was a lot of work to be done in the future.

**Narn Homeworld:**

_**Three days post Yedor**_

Throughout the known sectors of space, it had been apparent to everyone that the world of Narn had suffered grievously in the last two years. The war with the Centauri, their traditional enemies, had gone badly for them. The Centauri, with clandestine help from the mysterious beings called the Shadows, easily defeated fleet after fleet of ships the Narn sent against them. Their defensive forces battered, the Narn were subjected to bombardment by outlawed weapons of mass destruction. Mass-accelerated projectile weapons were used to bomb Narn back into the stone-age. Millions died and millions more of the survivors starved and then slaved under Centauri rule. But help came from an unexpected source and the Centauri were forced to relinquish control of the Narn home world.

Narn was now free, but the repercussions of the war remained and the threat continued. The Centauri, under a new and seemingly more stable leadership was still greatly despised and distrusted, and no Narn could turn a blind eye to what had been done to them and their world. However there was another, far more dangerous threat on the horizon and the Narn weren't fools. They wanted to survive the coming storm. As their Klingon allies would say, 'only a fool fights in a burning house'. That saying was very apt.

The Earth Alliance and the United Federation groups, the Minbari and just possibly, the Centauri was fast becoming a sort of unofficial, combined Federation. But there was no sense of stability yet. Things were rocky as many of the Minbari warrior caste distrusted the Starfleeters and their advanced technology. There were rumors spreading that some Minbari openly speculated that the Federation could never be as large, or as powerful as they claimed to be. And a few were bold enough to suggest that the Starfleeters, being made up of younger races, should submit to 'supervision' under the auspices of the Minbari warrior clans. But _Ambassador_, _Enterprise,_ _Voyager, Yeager _and the_ Rantoul_ were there for all to see; and in this case, seeing was believing. '_Blood of Saints'_ condition put a lie to all of their prejudicial speculating and most of the races summed up the Minbari attitudes as being attributed to envy and jealousy.

Be that as it was; only a relative few of the Minbari were hostile. The worker castes and several of the religious caste sects were openly embracing the change. Those of the worker caste taking classes and in the process of learning entire new fields in medicine, physics and biosciences had no intentions of damaging the peace generated with the Starfleet people.

But as a whole, the Minbari were also shocked and more than a bit unsure of themselves because of the revelations that had been proclaimed to the heavens by way of ISN, BAB-communications network, and a dozen other alien government broadcasts. The Minbari people of all castes were angry at the very idea that they were not considered the greatest of the younger races in all things. They had no great love for Earth, or the Centauri either. But, the Sinhindrea had proven themselves and the Minbari were gradually warming to the idea of associating with others for mutual defense and protection. Of course, no one knew if this 'gathering' would last.

Earth Alliance's situation was as serious as Narn, their world being poisoned by the Drakh under orders from the Shadows. But again, the Humans seemed to have pulled itself from the brink of destruction. The Federation and Earth Alliance medical teams had just announced a breakthrough and were proceeding with final testing before applying the cure to the Shadow plague. Most people knew that it had to have been the Federation medical experience that developed the breakthrough but everyone remained tactfully silent about the details. That breakthrough, everyone knew, had irritated the Shadows to no end and many of the younger, weaker races were quietly distancing themselves from the Humans. The Feds continued on with their work as if they didn't care; or, and this was even more frightening, as if they were daring the Shadows to do something. And with the Vorlons and Shadows working together as such, being around the Feds and the rest didn't seem to be a healthy thing to do right now.

This brought some unique opportunities to the forefront. No one had been expecting it but with the imminent agreement between the Soul Hunters and Federation, things were looking up for races seemingly placed in secondary roles. The Narn had just received plans for a much smaller jump engine in their hands now, courtesy of the much-feared Soul Hunters.

The Narn government was also in serious debate as to whether to join with one of Earth's colonies, Proxima III. That would almost certainly be a provocation to Earth Alliance and quite possibly precipitate a war in the future. But the possible benefits were staggering if they dared to grasp this opportunity with both hands.

And to their stunned surprise, the Drazi had approached them with a deal. The Drazi had smaller gunboats, the very effective _Sun Hawks,_ but they had no jump capable warships. They offered to sell _Sun Hawks_, considered one of the best gunboats for their size ever developed, to the Narn if the Narn would sell some of the Klingon modified, Narn Th'Nor class light cruisers being built. The Kha'Ri thought about the proposal for almost six hours before saying yes. The advantages were obvious. The _Sun Hawk_ could be modified with the new, smaller jump engines and they were cheap and easily built. Combined with the new polarized plating and Klingon-derived disruptors, they could be turned into a devastating warship. In turn, the Drazi could get what they needed the most; a large proven warship, jump-capable with heavy weapons and real polarized plating. After the initial agreement, negotiations continued and the Drazi sweetened the pot by adding a few of their _Sky Serpent_ fighters. The Narn in turn, offered to modify a few with polarized plating, newer scanners, and short-ranged disruptors as payment for the original fighters. Both sides would get a much needed security boost if they agreed to this deal.

The Brakiri ambassador, quietly listening in on the initial (and supposedly secretive) talks between the Narn and Drazi representatives, jumped into the deal with both feet. The Brakiri were merchants but had little in the ways of defenses to protect their interests or their worlds. They were essentially helpless and they knew it. Therefore, the ambassador introduced a radical proposal and added it to the mix. They, the Brakiri would completely finance the initial investments, if the Narn would produce warships for the Brakiri government. In addition to this, the government would pay for the Narn to patrol and safeguard Brakiri territories and merchant shipping. The reputation of the Narn security on _Babylon Five_ had been carefully noted and had met with approval. If the Narn agreed to this and the Drazi would allow the use of their destroyers in the patrolling of Brakiri interests, then the Brakiri would invest in both Narn and Drazi interests, providing desperately needed funding and resources. After a day of hard negotiations, an agreement was reached.

Each of the three governments was ecstatic by the potentials of what the future held for them all if they survive the next few months. But negotiations hadn't been completed yet.

Not by far.

--

"Can this truly be done?"

First Citizen G'Kar felt his knees buckling. His legs were as weak as a newborn. Yet, at the same time, he felt hope soar throughout his entire body. His toes tingled. What these people were proposing was insane, impossible, and even laughable. But if they could do this-

"It can be done," Captain Kagth announced. "The Federation is not the only one with technology to repair worlds. You have shown honor to my people when you didn't have to. You offered what little you had. You bonded with them. Koral respects you and that is enough."

"But you can clean our atmosphere?" asked G'Kar.

"Yes. We've learned much since the destruction of Praxis. It is a simple matter to clean your atmosphere and help rebuild your planet's environment. But it will take time; perhaps as long as two years to completely remove the contaminants."

The other Narns stared at the Klingons as if they were saviors. And once more Kagth felt like smiling. He didn't of course, but he understood the Narn's dilemma. Their atmosphere was still thick with pollutants from the bombardment by the Centauri a year and a half earlier. They didn't have the technology to repair their environment quickly but the Empire did. They had an agreement with his people who could never come back. So when it would be time for his ship to move on, he would make sure that they had as much of a chance as they could in this new universe.

"What do you propose?" asked Qarli, a member of the newly re-formed Kha'Ri.

"Transporter technology can be used to sweep your planet's atmosphere of contaminates," Commander Yannsi said quickly. "We can program the transporters to identify and remove specifically targeted particles from the air. With the replicators we can convert these particles into the raw materials needed for products to help rebuild your world."

"Replicator technology is one of the technologies that the Starfleeters steadfastly refused to give us," G'Kar said. "The same applies to transporter technology. Why would you do this?"

"The Klingon Empire is not the Federation," Kagth answered flatly. "Their reasons have validity, but the situation has changed. You will become responsible for these gifts. If you choose to abuse what we give you and destroy your world then it will be your fault. What we give you, treat well."

"Oh, we will," G'kar said while the other Narn officials nodded vigorously.

"You have honored the Koral and the Klingon people here. We will do the same. The captured Centauri space station would be a useful platform for the atmospheric cleaners. The disruptors given to you by my people are primitive. We will supply you with upgrades. And I have authorized Koral to supply you with shield generators and gravitic technologies. Take it and learn."

Kagth's smile sent shivers down G'kar 's spine. "Your people may not survive the coming year. But you deserve a chance. You are warriors as are my people, but you are alone. With others at your side, you may have a chance at glorious victory and survival."

To say that the officials of Narn were elated didn't begin to describe what they were feeling. Their planet had just gotten an economic and military boost that would catapult them towards becoming one of the great powers in the region. With capital coming from the Brakiri Syndicracy, strong economic and military ties with the Drazi Freehold, and advanced technology from the Klingons no one would be able to ignore them. Races would flock towards them, increasing their influence and security. They would never have to worry about the Centauri again. Ecstatic were they, however the responsibilities would be enormous and a few were concerned how this rapid influx of wealth would affect them as a people. There would be many questions for them to answer in the weeks and months to come. And how would the rest of the members of the Non-Aligned league respond to this new alliance growing in their midst?

But the surprises weren't over. A day after the unification conference was over G'kar had a long talk with Captain Adams of the United Planet's ship. He had assumed that this was in response to his repeated calls concerning the possibility of buying their robot or failing that trying to acquire the plans to create an approximation of that amazing device. He soon discovered his assumption was in error.

"Do you have any idea what you're asking?" he remembered asking Captain Adams. The robot called Robby stood by his side, not as a protector, although it surely seemed like one. G'Kar had no doubt whatsoever that the machine could rip apart a Centauri Primus without half trying. Someone had tried to steal the robot once but the effort was unsuccessful. Robby had casually ripped the engines out of the kidnapper's ship, presenting them to Captain Sheridan and Commander Ivanova as a souvenir. The captured and embarrassed techno-thieves would remain in prison for a good portion of their lives. That action effectively ended any more bright ideas of trying to steal the robot. But, he could well understand why several corporations and governments had tried to buy the device for such exorbitant fees. And its impeccable manners were simply an added plus, which is why this proposal was so significant. "This has never been done and the ramifications would be profound if this conversation became public. It's truly unprecedented."

Beside him, Na'Toth couldn't decide whether to be elated or terrified at the prospect of a major Human colony abandoning Earth Alliance and joining the fast-growing Narn Régime.

--

TBC more coming up on this section.


	51. Chapter42

_**Chapter 42**_

_"**Let's sow some more"**_

"I agree," Adams had told him. "This discussion must be kept quiet. It will shake the Earth Alliance to its core if it gets out. At worst, it might start another civil war. Mars has been bombed, most of their people lost by the alien attack. And you witnessed what happened to the colonies with Clark in power?"

"Yes, I remember," G'Kar had said.

"The Cooke colony has been all but destroyed and Wolf 359 isn't much better, thanks to EarthForce abusing their own people. With Earth suffering from a plague and the specter of war right on top of us, Proxima wants to declare its complete and utter independence from Earth. Gutsy move. But they can't go it alone. I've been approached by their representatives several times and I am beginning to admit that their offers are very attractive."

"But," G'Kar said slowly, "I long believed that you would be more interested allying yourselves with your fellow Humans in Earth Alliance and the Federation, as well as the Minbari."

"Frankly," the Human Captain had told him, "I don't trust EarthForce and their fascist ways; nor do I trust the Minbari and their arrogant, holier-than-thou attitudes. And I don't really feel comfortable with the Federation, even though I don't have anything against them. They're a little more cosmopolitan than I can feel comfortable with right now. I have no complaints, you understand, but from a sociological point of view, I feel like I'm playing catch-up with them. Their intermingling is the way of the future, but -" he shrugged. "That approach is good for them. For myself and my crew, we're closer to the Earth Humans here and their attitudes. We need to find our own way, choose our own speed to get to where the Feds are right now."

"Interesting that your world and Earth Alliance are so different, but xenophobia remains a common denominator between both your worlds."

"No," Adams had told him. "We're not xenophobic as much as a product of our culture. The Federation people and Earth's history is different than ours. In my reality, the Civil War fought in what was known as America, was won by the Confederacy. Slavery survived another two full generations before it died out and was eventually outlawed. There was no disagreement from anyone by that time that it should be considered a crime against Humanity. But the attitudes and stigma continued long after. In my time all people have the same rights and privileges, but people stay to themselves for the most part. Our people are segregated in military service, since it causes less problems and headaches."

"So Commander Sisko makes you feel uncomfortable?" G'Kar had asked.

"It was a surprise to see Captain Sisko next to Lieutenant Commander Troi," he had admitted. "That was something almost unheard of on a United Planets military vessel. Of course, the people of color on our planet have their own vessels that they command," he added hastily. "But mixing is almost never done."

"Of course," G'kar had said in an oh-so understanding manner. "So you are saying that associating with aliens is less stressful than associating with your fellow Humans of different hues and cultural differences?"

The Captain shrugged. "We still have a lot to learn," Adams had told him. "But then, so does Earth Alliance. They bombed their own people. Proxima suffered as much as Mars had. The entire population nearly starved to death because of the embargo. Hundreds died. EarthForce ships fired at the colony from orbit, destroying factories, food stores and water supplies, trying to force them to submit to the President. The Centauri destroyed the military bases on Proxima and again the people were helpless. They do not trust EarthDome and their policies, even if they've changed. What they want is freedom to determine their own destiny. However, this is the best and worst times to go independent. The Sinhindrea are coming and the colony doesn't believe for a second that Earth would lift a finger to help them, especially if Earth was threatened at the same time. That's why they came to me. The technology on my ship can be easily adapted in order to protect the colony and allow it to be completely independent from Earth."

"But there is a problem," G'Kar had guessed.

"Yes. They are too small and too isolated and under a government that allowed Clark to get away with atrocities. Therefore they are thinking of allying themselves with the Narn. But they needed an edge. That's why they came to me. They want us to become part of a new movement. The equipment and knowledge we have on our ship could make even second-hand shuttles things to be respected. But Proxima is too small to stand alone. My crew equals a total of fourteen people including Robby and Earth Alliance has pressured us one too many times. We can offer you and Proxima our technologies such as energy defensive fields which function on completely different principles as compared to the Federation starship shields. We have hyperspace drive not dependent on jump space. We have weapons, both space-borne and land-based, that your ship's armor could never defend itself against, and that includes the Minbari crystalline armor. We also have Robby and that means that we can offer you and Proxima our synthesizer technology. It's slower than replicators but you can build the prototypes and understand the engineering behind it quickly. Instead of instant foods and materials generated by Starfleet replicators, we can do exactly the same thing for most products, in any shape or color, with a time limit consisting of only a few minutes to a few days. We could eliminate hunger in a matter of months. If your new vessels have Klingon shields and weapons, it could be enough to keep EarthForce off balance for a while until we gear up our own defenses. But we would be equal partners, not some sort of servant protectorate." He looked grim. "There are risks, true."

"Yes, Captain. And they are dangerous risks."

"But the rewards and the opportunity for freedom for both our people would be immense. And in time we could be an effective counterweight to the EA, Fed and Minbari alliance."

"Do you consider them potential enemies?" he had asked. He was curious about the answer.

Adams shook his head. "They are not our enemies, not in the least. I would compare them to competitors, but that isn't a bad thing. History has repeatedly shown that competition is good for the soul. It promotes growth and usually keeps arrogance down to a manageable level. Between the two of us, we could produce advancements and stability throughout the region. We wouldn't isolate ourselves from them and we could set up commerce and tech exchanges. It will be what we choose to make it."

But what if Earth Alliance threatens war?" asked Na'Toth.

"With everything that's going on, it'll take them some time for them to decide what to do and more time to do something about it if they decide to. By then, the price will be too high for them to pay in the long run. With the Narn, Klingons and my additions facing them, I don't believe that they'll take the chance. Besides, the Starfleeters and Minbari might strongly object to that. But only time will tell."

"I will talk to my people," G'Kar said. Amazing, it was as Delenn had said. The Humans had a gift and they were using it now, attempting to build a community; Humans and aliens coming together in ways no other race would have even considered. They were like glue, sticking others together to them whether they agreed to it or not. What could the future bring with these Humans running around everywhere? "This is a very tempting proposal. With Humans associated with all three alliances, theoretically, the threat of war between us would be greatly diminished. The word 'theoretical' is stressed here," he added. "I must talk to my government but I will place as much weight behind it as I can and I suspect they will agree to these terms."

Again, it took only a few hours for the Ka'Rhi to agree. Now the challenge would be to quietly build up Proxima's ground and orbital defenses while keeping Earth Alliance from finding out too soon.

**Another Universe:**

_**And The Stars Cry Out For Their Children: And They Are Not**_

Theimmense battlestar_ Galactica_, under full cloak had taken three days to return to the gateway and President Adama wasn't pleased by what he saw. They had successfully threaded the needle. Now they were parallel to the Sinhindrea fleet. The line of ships stretch over a thousand kilometers in length; all of them waiting in anticipation for the time they could enter the dimensional portal.

From the time the _Galactica_ had left the gate the first time, they had been chased and hunted by two vessels who continued to pick up their trail no matter what evasive tactics the Colonial vessel tried. How these hunters were doing this, most of the crew had no idea, but it was becoming intolerable to Commander Apollo. Two days earlier things came to a head as the trackers jumped them the instant that the warship came out of warp.

The Clovien Mind-hunters' first error was in assuming that the _Galactica_ was unaware of their presence. In the last two thousand years no alien vessel had ever been able to survive dedicated attacks from Clovien hunter teams. The initial attacks from this vessel and those that had transverse the Doorway of Eternity had been on unsuspecting, unprepared Sinhindrea brood ships and cargo vessels. Precious water carriers filled with unhatched younglings had been slaughtered by the grey ships that passed through the gate.

No race designated for death was allowed to kill younglings without suffering the worst of punishments. The Lords of the Dark Cities were to be feared, not to be the ones who were made to be afraid. Although aware of the potential dangers of this unknown race, they were arrogant, assured that their shielding would protect them from any dedicated assault this new enemy could throw at them.

The _Galactica_ was firing back with heavy disruptors and phasers used to kill shielded _Extreme_-class Cylon Basestars. The unsuspecting Clovien defensive shields were battered down within three seconds. The power-globe from the first Clovien collapsed immediately when disrupters penetrated deep into the core. The explosion was as violent as anything the President and crew had ever seen.

The second Clovien, shields severely weaken by the _Galactica's_ weapons collapsed. The Colonials finished it off using their Aeriana-based lasers. The dual beam weapons, each stronger than the hottest Borg laser, burning at one hundred sixty pulses per second, sliced the offending vessels into pieces less than three centimeters in size. Again the power-core detonated spectacularly, for a moment creating a small star in the heavens. The battlestar departed the area long before more of the Sinhindrea could arrive.

After the successful transition of the I.K.S. _Azetbur,_ _Voyager_, and the _Rantoul_ to that other quantum universe, the _Galactica_ had retreated, heading back to the region of space that the children had sent them, confident that they could reverse the process, but they never made it. Instead, they turned back.

Deep within the engineering section of the Battlestar _Galactica_ stood a crystal shard the size of three shuttles. The diamond had been discovered by the fleeing Colonials about a year and a half after fleeing from the destroyed Colonial worlds. Located in an asteroid field of a long burnt-out sun, the star crystal was half the size of the _Galactica_. What was unusual about the crystal was that it glowed, powered by an internal process that the Colonials didn't understand. The crystal fragments pulsed, fluctuations sometimes random and at other times pulsing together in perfect harmony. It appeared they choose their own times, to communicate with each other. Believing that it would be useful for laser weapons research, the Colonials later discovered that the fragments were in fact a single living entity.

In his stateroom, President Adama picked up a small glass of ambrosia resting on the table in front of him. Swirling it back and forth slowly, he stared at the sight of the light brown liquid. The bubbles seeming to appear from nowhere formed at the bottom of the glass and streamed towards the surface of the alcoholic liquid. He tasted it, placed the glass back on the table. He continued reading the report from the Alpha quadrant, and grimaced at the news.

The Cylons had gone on a rampage as their new combat docks had gone online. The Vulcan and Andorian systems were under attack. Bajor and Cardassia had joined forces to defend against heavily increased Cylon attacks all across the sector as they tried to gain access to the wormhole. The Dominion, aware of what was going on, had begun adding their considerable firepower to the aid of Bajor and their former Cardie minion. The reptilian species called the Gorn were now fighting against Cylon incursions into their territories. The Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan remnant were beginning offensive strikes against the Cylon invasion. Non Federation systems and independent systems are banding together to defend against the Cylon Hordes.

When he gathered the few surviving members of the twelve colonies, and fled from Cylon extermination, this fear of the war's expansion to innocents was always in the back of his mind. Fear turned to jubilation when he and his people discovered the Federation. The fear returned when the Cylons were upgraded to become the threat they were now.

In his other hand, he held a tiny shard Aeriana, barely the size of his thumb. Quietly he spoke to it.

It spoke back.

It still awed him that stars were living entities, living in a way no mortal could possibly conceive. They were older than the Beings of Light called the Del Fray, the Metrons, or the Organians. They were as ageless as the Q, if one could believe everything the Q said. And it has decided to speak to him and the others on the ship. It had allowed itself to be used as a weapon. Its self-generating energy matrix magnified Colonial weapons by a factor twenty. The star was wisdom itself, yet it lowered itself to talk to him. Strange, he thought once more. Aeriana chose to speak to him because Q had chosen to speak to him and the crystal decided that he was worth speaking to also. And when it spoke, Adama listened.

"The stars mourn for their children," Aeriana said. The color of the crystal shard changed from dark pink to a bluish hue as it pulsed faster. "I was never charged with life. I heard the others. They talked of the life spots in their charge. To me, it was unimportant. Existing with you – now, I understand."

Adama pursed his lips. "You've used the word charge. What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"We are not the creators of life, young one. Our duty is to provide what is necessary to sustain. In terms you understand, my brothers and sisters have lost their charges. Too many mourn."

"It is because of the Sinhindrea," Adama answered. "They have destroyed countless worlds. And they are still doing it. If my people and others of my kind don't stop them, then they will continue until there is nothing left."

"Through me, that is what my brothers and sisters have said. They want retribution and I will honor that request."

"Through us," Adama finished.

"It is the price," the Aeriana said. "I will help. I wish to see the children and I will explain, so that you and yours are not removed or extinguished when you next meet. My brothers and sisters do not wish what has happened to them happen to our cousins in the other, as you call it, universe. The Q is helping you and so shall I. I will unleash."

--

"President on the bridge."

Commander Apollo and Strike Commander Starbuck came to attention as Adama entered the Bridge. He was ex-president now but to the _Galactica_ he would always be the 'Commander'.

"Have they detected us?"

"No," Starbuck answered. "But they're so fracking telepathic that it's only a matter of time. I'm surprised haven't detected us already."

"I don't think they can anymore, at least not now," Adama mused. "What's the status?"

"They've been taking ranging shots at the mines since we got here," Starbuck said. "They can't get through and it's driving them crazy. Then twenty minutes ago they stopped. And now ten of their warships are lining up for something."

"Full stealth mode. Pull us back," Apollo ordered. "Twenty thousand kilometers."

The _Galactica_ slowly retreated out of the line of fire and incoming freighters lining up behind the Sinhindrea warships. Moments later, the ten ships unleashed a hellish display of firepower directly at the minefield. Thousands of mines erupted and the explosions lasted for at full five minutes. The Sinhindrea continued for another five minutes. Then ten ships, followed by fifty of the freighters and brood carriers rushed the gateway.

They entered and began their transition into the other universe. The last freighter however, erupted in flames and disintegrated as the self replicating mines started to re-establish their control over the gate.

"They've figured the timing out. Guess we'll have to change the configuration," he grinned evilly.

"How long from the time they finished firing to the re-establishment of the mines?" demanded Apollo.

"Fifty-four microns."

Ten more warships followed by freighters and carriers were once more lining up to take a run through the gate and again the warships started taking potshots at the minefield.

"They're running out of time on the other side," Apollo said. "Let's aggravate the situation, shall we?"

Starbuck smiled viciously. "Why not?" he asked coldly. "Prepare missile tubes one through thirty for firing. Use Solonite-Aeriana warheads for tubes one through twenty on all warships. Quantum warheads for tubes twenty-one through thirty on freighters and carriers. Full power all disruptors and lasers canons on targets of opportunity. Helm, be prepared to run."

The bridge crew, focused on their duties, prepared for the oncoming fight.

"Sixty independent vessels have been acquisitioned; passive targeting confirmed."

"Targets of opportunity have been acquired – moving into position and designated one through sixty. No countermeasures detected. They don't know we're here. Threats minimal at this time."

"Prepare communications squirt with latest intel and data from Starfleet and Klingon Intelligence. I will prepare a report to be sent to Janeway and Kagth concerning this situation at the gate. Include all the latest sensor data. Feed signal through the mines to the other side and squirt subspace widest possible signal."

"Yes, Commander."

"How long do you think it'll be before they try it again?"

"Possibly an hour, maybe two. When they do, cut them to pieces."

"With pleasure, Sir."

**USS _Voyager:_**

"_Babylon Five_ this is _Voyager_," Captain Chakotay said. "Permission to leave."

"Permission granted," Susan said. Please use thrusters before going to warp. We have a lot of ships out there and I don't want you running over somebody who can't get out of the way in time. Good luck."

"Thank you, control."

"Oh," Susan added. "Please tell Commander Chakotay, that I hate her new programming upgrades." Then she added, "have any more Borg programs?"

Chakotay smiled as did Admiral Janeway and the others on the bridge.

One eyebrow of Annika Hansen-Chakotay's raised in a very Vulcan-type salute. "There is a Species 8472 program that you might find stimulating."

"I bet," Ivanova said. "I want heavier firepower this time."

"As you wish," Annika said. "If you think it'll help," she half smirked.

Susan matched her smirk with one of her own. "You're clear for warp." She saluted.

With that the communications closed. Chakotay stared at the screen, watching intently as _Voyager_ cleared the last of the dozens of civilian and military ships. To their right, he saw the dozens of workbees and space suited personnel completing work on the right nacelle of the _Enterprise-D_. The warp core had been replaced and the ship was about fifty percent repaired.

"Navigator, plot a course for Earth, Tom. Warp two."

"Warp two, aye."

_Voyager_ stretched into the infinity of spatial distortion and was gone.

"Go to slipstream at my mark," Chakotay ordered. "Let's take our time."

"Yes, Sir. It'll take a whole fifteen minutes to get to the Earth system."

"Good enough. Doctor, are you listening?"

"Yes, I am, Admiral. I'm ready to deploy the cure."

"Good."

"Entering slipstream – now."

**The _Galactica_:**

"It's starting." Strike Commander Starbuck glanced at the chronometer as it counted down to zero. The Sinhindrea were repeating the procedure that they'd used earlier to gain entry through the gate. They were firing wildly destroying mines left and right in random patterns for five minutes. Suddenly the warships concentrated all of their fire in one section in front of the gate and again they continued for five minutes.

"I love consistency," Apollo whispered to his friend. "Ten microns to firing."

"Ready transmission."

"Transmission ready, Commander Apollo."

"Release first safeties."

"First safeties off."

"Release second safeties"

"Second safeties off."

"Multiple target tracks acquisition confirmed. We have blue light on all targets."

The Sinhindrea suddenly stopped firing. That was the signal and the next group of ships began rushing the gate.

It was time. "Decloak and Fire," Commander Apollo ordered. "Transmission on my mark."

The Colonial Battlestar shimmered into full view of the enemy fleet and fired two sets of thirty high powered missiles. Seconds later the Solonite-based missiles underwent a controlled fusion reaction. Three microseconds after that, the one microgram Aeriana crystal embedded in the Solonite warhead activated its own power matrix, boosting the fission reaction by a factor of sixty instead of twenty. Two missiles each exploding with over eight hundred isotones of directed plasma-hot, star-generated energy vaporized all ten of the Sinhindrea warships. Their detonations added to the horror of the Sinhindrea civilians as the fifty closest vessels were hit by either a single Aeriana-enhanced missile or a quantum variation. Four seconds later, three ships remained out of sixty targeted. Those three ships were little more than holed wrecks. Forty more vessels in the immediate area suffered various degrees of structural damage.

'_How did that happen!'_ wondered Starbuck. "Transmit," the Strike Commander ordered. "And reconfigure the mines, random pattern Scorpio-Gemini. All disruptors' fire!"

Heavy disruptor beams targeted and slammed into the shields of the closest heavy Clovien warship rushing towards them. The beams pushed the shields into the red before the vessel shuttered and veered off course. A three microsecond transmission was squirted into the trans-dimensional opening and was relayed by several mines on the other side of the doorway. Those mines also received the new randomization protocols and they swiftly began to readjust their randomized trajectories to keep the Sinhindrea from continuing the same technique the _Galactica_ had observed on their side of the gate.

"Warp six any direction," Apollo commanded. "We've done enough for now. There were at least fifteen heavy destroyers homing in on their position and would be in weapons' range in mere microns. The _Galactica's_ warp drive engines activated and she departed in a blaze of spatial distortion, leaving an infuriated race of ancients confused, afraid, and seething in their rage at a race they barely know but had vowed to destroy at all costs.

Once more the gate was completely cut off to them.

--  



	52. Chapter 43 full chapter

_**Chapter 43**_

"_**You can always depend on Murphy"**_

**_Earth Space:_**

Right about now, Colonel Griffin was an impatient man, scanning the area for the arrival of the Federation starship to enter the Sol system. His home – his world, was in a state of disaster, his people withering away as the Drakh plague slowly consumed them from the inside out. As everyone knew by now, the plague wasn't designed to kill Earth's population; but it was designed to severely weaken Humanity. The Shadows had made their pestilence too well, however. The people would succumb to the ravages of other diseases and starvation long before the Sinhindrea arrived. If the cure the Federation claimed to have was real, then this would be the first real piece of good news that his planet had had in a long time.

The people '_were'_ slowly dying. Most were too weak to help themselves and medical services were becoming overwhelmed even by the simple act of humane care giving. Hospitals were starting to close because lack of supplies and loss of personnel. Food production was dropping off. Water systems were breaking down. Stores were closed. There were small towns, villages and cities across the world that had simply ceased to exist as the diseased townsfolk starved to death and succumbed to minor illness because there was no one in the area well healthy enough to come to their aid. Billions of people were at the brink. The basic infrastructure across the planet was coming apart.

Thousands of volunteers from neighboring colonies and the military protected by environmental suits did what they could. But thousands could not do enough to help billions. And the help wasn't enough. Earth Alliance under Clark had burned too many bridges. And Mars was all but dead. The death toll there from the attack by the Sinhindrea raid had been calculated to be over ninety-five percent.

_Voyager_ exited slipstream near Pluto, dropping to warp two as the starship penetrated deeper into the system, then to impulse. Already, the evidence of the previous battles was present to greeted them. Drakh and EarthForce ruins everywhere littered the area causing the Starfleet crew to stare in morbid fascination at the devastation. Too many of them had been through the Dominion holocaust and the recent fighting against the enhanced Cylon war-machine not to feel empathy for the battered star system.

The newly developed sensors utilizing tachyons designed to specifically detect the Federations FTL signatures onboard the_ Evanston _detected the unique distortion wave produced by the Federation starship as it entered the system. For months, EarthForce R&D had labored hard trying to find a way to accurately detect and track the FLT drive trails. So far, they had made little headway. Earth Alliance and most other races had no experience in the areas of subspace physics and learning a new science from scratch was going to be a long term process.

However, without their shields active, them moving at what they called impulse speed, and the _Evanston_ using the first generation back-engineered sensor array copied from the _Thunderbolt_ Starfury stolen from the _B5_ station, the Starfleet ships could be detected.

He and Captain Terrell Drake's eyes were glued to the screen watching the Federation vessel dodge over, under, and around derelicts as if it were a causal stroll around a parkway. The control the ship exhibited was almost unbelievable and the closest thing either man could compare it to were the three _Whitestar_ vessels at _B5_. Sheridan's three vessels were smaller and designed to be more maneuverable as they used Minbari technology and possibly Vorlon tech. But there were no other ships that he knew of that could perform moves like _Voyager_ was doing. It was casually dodging space debris and obstacles like a vehicle weaving through traffic.

"Transmit to _Voyager_," the Colonel ordered. "Send standard greetings.

Behind him a snaked-eyed Drake said nothing. Even after over a year, the Captain had not completely gotten over the humiliating defeat _Babylon Five_.

"Captain, we're receiving a communication from the EarthForce ship _Evanston_."

"Onscreen," Chakotay said.

"Glad to see that you made it," the Colonel who looked so much like a young James Kirk said. "We're to escort you into Earth. Do you have it?" he asked with a desperation that could be felt by the entire bridge crew.

"Yes Colonel," Chakotay answered as comfortingly as he could. We will be deploying a series of probes to aid in distributing the cure to be used along with your satellites to maximize the treatment."

"You're using probes to affect a cure?" Griffin asked. Once again Drake had inched closer, listening intently and violating Griffin's personal space in the process.

"Yes," the Starfleet Captain said.

By this time the _Enterprise_ was running parallel to the _Evanston_ and at the present speed, it would take another hour to reach Earth. "The agent poisoning your planet is nano-tech based. They can be specifically programmed to affect any species they come into contact with. The creators of this pathogen made sure that it is programmable and thereby controllable. In order to inactivate the nanites they would transmit a specific code. It took us a while, but the Doctor and his associates we were able to discover the code. Once the termination code is transmitted, the pathogen will become inactive. We want maximum effectiveness, so we will use our probes and your communications satellites to transmit the signal."

"If it works, how long before we see results?"

"According to the Doctor, the results should be immediate," Chakotay said. "The people should start feeling better in a matter of hours, but it will take about a week before most of the people are fully recovered. The treatment will need to be repeated several times. Six billion people will need time to rest and recover. They will need care until they can get enough strength to take care of themselves. I don't need to tell you that this is going to be a big job. You're going to need the resources and the help of the other worlds to get past this."

"Aliens?" Drake blurted out before could stop himself. "They were the ones who poisoned us and blew the population of Mars out of existence!"

"Your President gave orders to fire on your own colonies," Chakotay coldly responded. "Your forces attacked _Babylon Five_ and our ships on several occasions. You fired on civilian ships. Your forces tried to hijack our ship. Your President conspired with the race called the Shadows to turn your government into a dictatorship with EarthForce's blessings," he continued. "Straighten out your own house before you try to place all of your problems on others."

Drake was about to start a blistering retort when he was cut off by his commanding Officer. "Enough, Captain," he snapped. He turned to Chakotay. "Politics aside, we appreciate you help. But we will deal with our own problems, Captain. I've read some of your Starfleet historical records and they've shown that your government hasn't been that sterling either."

"I agree wholeheartedly," Chakotay said evenly. "The Dominion war, which was not in the records you were shown, was an excellent example of what you are talking about. The Federation has made several mistakes. We allowed some of our colonies to be taken over by enemy forces in order to keep the peace. We also underestimated the Dominion's resolve. We've tried to maintain the peace by any means necessary and we paid for our stupidity. But we've learned from our mistakes. When the Federation first began we made hundreds of mistakes as we grew. We learned from them as we are still doing. Xenophobia wasn't one of them, at least not on a planetary scale."

"Earth Alliance hasn't had your experiences, Captain," Drake retorted. "We have the right to defend ourselves and determine our own destiny."

"True," Chakotay agreed. But do you have the right to continually fear your neighbors? Do you have the right to refuse help from those who would willingly help you simply because they're not of the same race? _Babylon Five_ was – is," he corrected, "a good idea. It's time for all of you to start working together, because somewhere out there are forces just waiting to tear you apart. That is a fact of life. We can improve ourselves but there are others out there that want nothing more than to subjugate or destroy us, for being us. That is why the Federation was created – strength in numbers."

"Captain, are you trying to tell us to grow up?" the Kirk look-alike asked while smirking a little even as he did so.

Chakotay matched his smile. "Something like that," he answered.

"Oh, please," Drake murmured. "You people can't even get your own lies together. We found the Klingon derelict months ago. IPX's research is still tracking your down origins in deep space. This of course means that your extra dimensional claims are suspect, like everything else you've said."

"I take it you don't believe us?"

"You take it correctly," Drake countered. "Don't think that the fact that Captain Garrett looks like President Levy hasn't escaped our notice either. There are too many inconsistencies and coincidences for myself and others to simply ignore. Then there's your influence over _Babylon Five, _along with the constant interference by the Minbari. Earth Alliance is splitting apart and it's largely your influence that is causing this fracturing. You people a threat our very way of life."

"Is this the official line, Captain, is this the general consensus of Earth Alliance, or is this your own personal opinion?"

"Many of us don't trust you," he flatly stated. "You're Human but you don't act like it."

"And how are we supposed to act? Chakotay countered. "Like you?"

"You're Human! You should be supporting Earth and its rightful government, not some alien influenced régime. The political situation is different here. Earth Alliance is a sovereign nation and we have responsibilities to determine our own destinies, not to be controlled by outside, alien forces. The other races and governments can't be trusted. They would take advantage of any weakness we have; the Centauri, the Narn, the Minbari – just ask them. Self-interest means survival and we cannot depend on others to ensure our continued existence. It's dangerous out here, or haven't you noticed. Our 'neighbors' have been trying to kill us. Why should we trust them? For that fact, why should we trust you?"

"It may help if I explain this to you. My Earth is a founding member of the United Federation of Planets with over one hundred-seventy species worlds and over a thousand colonies. We're eight thousand light years across and growing. We've defended ourselves against the Klingons, and Romulans. We've defeated the Dominion and have hurt the Borg. We're holding our own against the Cylon Empire and we're still expanding. Humanity is spreading across the galaxy. We have no use for yours. Other than cultural exchanges, your little empire here is of very little interest use to us. We are not from this quantum universe as we have told you. Other than that bit of information, we are not obligated to tell you anything more. But I will tell you this," Chakotay said. "If we were aggressive and decided we wanted Earth Alliance, you wouldn't even be able to slow us down. This includes the Minbari Federation and the Non-aligned worlds helping you. We came here to help. But our very existence frightens you. That makes you and your governments look very backwards and provincial. We've put our lives on the line for your world, and in return, your people tried to kidnap our Officers and hijack our ship. Yet we are still here willing to help your people."

Drake huffed, not responding to the accusations. But he clearly didn't believe what he was being told about peaceful Federation intentions; in fact he was more convinced than ever that the Feds were planning something.

"If you want us to believe you, then we want a full accounting of everything," Drake said. "We want full access to your historical records and origins. We want a complete listing of your weapons capabilities. We want to know why you've abandoned Earth and conspired to live with aliens."

Chakotay almost sighed. Other crewmembers looked at the man as if he were one of the bigger idiots they'd seen. "You're a very small-minded man, Drake," Chakotay answered. "We can give you a copy of our database but access to our military secrets and technology is prohibited and you know it. The Federation has a non-interference policy called the Prime Directive. Because of the circumstances, the _Ambassador_, _Yeager_ and _Enterprise_ are the exceptions. All you have to do is ask and _Voyager_ will leave and not interact with your government every again. This includes using our cure to help save Earth. So, contact your leaders now and decide if you want our help or not," he added with a trace of venom in his voice.

"Wait," Griffin said quickly. He had to salvage the situation. This conversation had gotten way out of hand. "True, the trust isn't that strong between us, but we can talk, maybe straighten out any misunderstanding. Drake doesn't speak for everyone in EarthForce."

"Glad to hear it," the Federation Captain said hotly. "I would hate to think that the military branch of your government would be willing to let Earth die just to acquire a few military secrets from us."

**Battlestar _Galactica_: **

"We are now entering system J-8241."

"They've lost us Commander," one of the threat-scans operators reported. "We have four of their capital ships two light-years distance heading away from us."

"Good," Apollo said. "Continue silent running. Head for that gas giant and establish orbit on the closest moon."

"Cloak is optimal. Emissions- in stealth optimal. Dropping from transwarp to warp.

Besides him Strike Commander Starbuck repressed the urge to pull out one of his very valuable Cuban cigars and light up. Despite the fact that Earthers didn't smoke as a whole, there were still a few of them that indulged in a good cigar. He had discovered such a place and ordered a few hundred. They weren't quite like his beloved fumarros but they'd do. This running from the enemy, hitting them hard, and running once more reminded him too much of the years trying to escape from the Cylons. There were of course some major differences, like the addition of Federation warp drives and Klingon heavy disruptors. And the _Galactica's_ own light-speed engines, a primitive, but functional form of transwarp drive had been upgraded to units that equaled slipstream and Borg transwarp propulsion. The old girl was as lethal as they came. But going up against the Sinhindrea within their own backyard was considered by all insanity personified – even if they had done it a couple of times.

"Passive sensors only. Bring us to a complete stop. We'll remain here for a while. I want an analysis on the weapons the Sinhindrea used against us. Their battleships used something else besides their normal pulse beams."

"I noticed that, too," Starbuck said. "It was almost as if the plasma was tracking us. But it wasn't a missile. I've never seen anything like that."

"I want two _Cobras_ launched. Make sure that they use their cloaks at all times. I want to keep as low a profile as we can."

Starbuck gave the order. His eyes darkened as he thought about Voyager and the inter-dimensional doorway to another reality. "What do you think it's like over there?"

"I have no idea," Apollo answered knowing full well what his friend was talking about. "It's a different universe, mostly likely filled with aliens we can't imagine in our wildest dreams."

Every since we've come to this part of space, I have seen so many aliens and Human look-alikes that it still sends chills down my spine. It makes me feel that if it hadn't been for the war, I would have wanted to become an explorer."

"You mean after you got passed all of the drinking, arousing and gambling?" asked an amused Apollo. I can see you exploring now, a fumarro in your mouth and a gun in your hand, the result of you exploring a bit too much."

Starbuck laughed. "Probably true," he conceded. "Ah, the good old days. I wasn't even married then."

"You're not married now."

"Not officially. But when I get back..."

"Did you hear anything more about her sister?"

"Jewenne?" Starbuck asked as Apollo nodded. "She's okay. Her and David Thompson are married now with a kid on the way. Starbuck smiled. "Fast workers, those two."

"And you're gonna seal with her sister?"

"By the gods, yes," he answered emphatically. "You know, I really did love Cassie but there's a difference here. There's a bond between us that I don't even want to think about breaking. Whether she's Niddel or Fenna makes no difference," he spoke with conviction. "She loves me." Her psychic projection of Fenna only comes out in times of stress. When I left, Fenna was just as hurt as Niddel which I take as a good sign."

"But, she's not that strong," Apollo said carefully.

"True, but she's mine and that's enough," replied his lifelong friend.

"Congratulations, Starbuck. That's really love."

"I guess it is, isn't it? Well, I guess I will follow your lead, get Sealed, and be welcomed into the ranks of the living dead."

"Being Sealed isn't that bad!"

Behind them Adama listened to his two children – men now in every sense, talk. Starbuck was in everyway his son, not a substitution of Zack his lost one, but an addition he claimed as his own. Niddel wasn't Human as the Colonials understood the term, but Starbuck didn't care and that alone showed how much the man had matured.

Adama knew that despite all of the medical advances by both his people and the Federation, he wasn't long for the world; but he was content. His family would continue on in spite of everything the Cylons would throw at them. They weren't alone now. There was a whole galaxy of Humans and Humanlike brethren that would guarantee their survival.

In the end, the evil that was Iblis would lose. Of that, he was sure. But until then there were many things still left to do and one of them was to keep the Sinhindrea from gaining full access of the doorway to that other universe. The other was to make sure that the Cylons didn't gain access to the Great Machine Intelligum of the Baroni cluster the creator of V'Ger from the _Voyager_ Six probe.

The probe, vastly enhanced by the Intelligum became self aware as it pursued its purpose to lean all that was learnable. It eventually returned to earth seeking its creator-mankind. It literally joined with its creator; a representative of humanity, a man named Willard Decker, and added a perfect mechanical copy of a Deltan navigator named Ilia. That combination produced a new life form unlike anything in this galaxy. Adama still remembered the words of the Entity called Q, so similar to Iblis yet so vastly different.

"And that is exactly why the Borg lusts after V'Ger," Q had said, "or should I say the children. The union between V'Ger and Human ape and Deltan sex-fiend produced unexpected results. The Deltan aspect required a lot of attention if you know what I mean, and shame on you Picard if you don't; and the Human aspect, Decker who had a previous relationship with real Ilia, fit the bill perfectly. The Union became a duality, which produced several offspring, humanoid in appearance, Intelligum by design, with the mindset both organic and mechanical. Only two children were viable, but their energy and intelligence were remarkable, if I must say so. Each contains the best of both worlds. This of course attracted the Borg in droves and the fight to assimilate them has lasted until now. The kids hate the Borg and will instantly destroy anything that approaches them containing Borg technology."

That last part was wrong, Adama knew. There were at least four children that had proven viable. And one of them was pregnant. And that was another one of the main reasons they were out here, to prevent the Cylons from convincing them to join the Borg, whom they hated, or introducing the Cylons to the Machine Intelligum and gaining access to their unbelievable technology. However, Janeway had the codes that would again capture the children's attraction, hopefully long enough to talk to them once more before they would be ejected from their presence again. What could they say to these creatures before they once again ignored them? That was indeed the question he had asked himself over and over. His thoughts were interrupted by one of the warrior shouting a warning.

"Sir we're being scanned," he said. Very narrow bandwidth."

"Frack," Apollo said before he could stop himself. "From where?"

"Can't lock onto its source, Commander. Whoever it is knows we're here."

"We really didn't need this. All stations, prepare to go active on my command."

The Sinhindrea had found them quicker than anyone had assumed. _'War had a__way of ripping assumptions apart,'_ Adama thought gloomily.

**EAS _Evanston_:**

**Captain's Quarters:**

"Explain yourself, Captain," Griffin demanded. "Why do you feel this need to antagonize the very people who may be able to save our planet? Where is your professionalism?"

"Permission to speak freely?"

The Colonel's hazel eyes were ice cold when he spoke. "My permission hasn't stopped you so far, Captain." It was a warning 'don't go too far', but the Captain never noticed or he didn't care.

"I don't trust them, Sir."

"I don't fully trust them either," the Colonel stated. "However, I am not as belligerent in their presence as you are."

"With all do respect, Sir, what they've given us is a bunch of bull," Terrell said. "Another dimension? Why is it that Captain Garrett looks like she could be President Levy's twin sister? The same thing goes for that Kirk person that looks like you and even that Psi-Cop's name I can't remember at the moment. It can't be coincidence, Sir. They are playing with our minds. They obviously have the technology to clone people and I believe that's what they're doing."

"To what end?" Griffin asked. The thought had occurred to him as well but he could never connect a reason for it so he was genuinely curious about the Captain's take on the matter.

"To the eventual domination of our government," he said matter-of-factly. "Look at what's happened since they arrived here. At first there were two ships, then, the Klingon ship arrived. Then the _Yeager,_ and now _Voyager_, the _Rantoul_ and the _Azetbur_IPX has never found any evidence to substantiate their claims of coming through some sort of dimensional rift. That Klingon derelict they did find, points to evidence to the contrary. But they just happen to come here, flaunting their technology, interfering with Earth Alliance business, and joining Sheridan's rebellion just at the right time to guarantee his success."

"I agree," the Colonel said slowly. "There are a lot of questions that need to be answered, but they have not shown any decisively," and he stressed that last word, _'decisively'_, "aggressive actions when they could have."

"It's still not enough of their ships here to matter," Drake speculated. "Also the local politics have been playing havoc with their plans. Maybe they don't like conquest though purely military means. Maybe they use more insidious ways. Sir, they are offering a cure with no strings attached! And we're going to take it because we have no other choice," he added sourly. "Then we'll owe them and believe me, we will pay for it. Clark had it right when he said that outside, alien influences were one of the greatest dangers that we could possibly face. Look at what the Vorlons have done to us, creating those telepaths."

Here, Griffin agreed wholeheartedly. When Earth Alliance had heard about Vorlon tampering among the younger races, they went ballistic. For too many people this seemed a confirmation of President Clark's assertions about alien interference with Human affairs. He was just as concerned about the revelations as everyone else. "The Vorlons did it t all of the races," said Griffin.

"I don't care about the other races," Drake responded harshly. "I do care about what is going on with our people and our planet. We're EarthForce for God's sake," he snapped. "We're worse than useless. We're the laughing stock of the whole galaxy. That must stop. We need to build up our strength as a unified whole so that we can defend ourselves from these types of intrusions. Look at the Minbari," he continued; using those he hated the most as an example. "Barely fifteen years ago, they tried to exterminate us and we couldn't do anything to stop them. And no one came to help us. One small mistake almost killed us all. Think about it," he continued. "Jankowski wasn't completely at fault. His judgment was somewhat poor but he didn't do anything that most any other Captain might have done in his shoes. But to condemn an entire race for the death of one person is something the Human race would have never have imagined doing to someone else. They go extremes. That's why I do not trust the Minbari." He took a breath before continuing. Whatever he was about to say was exacting a price from him. "But Picard and his people are worse."

"For the sake of argument, I reiterate; they are not our people."

"You're right about that, Sir. They're not our people because they have been contaminated. Whether they are a lost colony, possibly kidnapped by aliens thousands of years ago, or from some other reality, they are different than us. Deep down, they still have some humanity, so there should have been some connect between us and them. However, they work and involve themselves with aliens on a level that borders on the obscene. Their whole mindset is unnatural."

"So let me try to understand you your feelings here," said Griffin. "Your anger stems from the fact that they involve themselves with aliens in ways that seems unnatural to you?"

"No, Sir, that's only part of it," he said slowly. "That's bad enough." He stopped speak. For almost a minute neither man said anything as Griffin waited fro Drake to finish. "The real reason I do not like these people," he said slowly, "is because they lord it over us with their science and technology. I was there when the _Enterprise_ and _Ambassador_ took our ships apart at _Babylon Five_." Griffin watched in fascination as Terrell's entire demeanor change. The man was reliving the fight that had so changed his life. "Sir, our objective was clear. On orders from the President of Earth Alliance, we were to secure the station and I was part second wave to come in."

"When I jumped into the system, I didn't expect to see that kind of carnage. There were dead and dying soldiers everywhere, each one of them wearing EarthForce uniforms and I was angry. Sheridan and the others had no right to force so many people to choose and die like that. I wanted it to end and that was exactly what I planned to do; complete my mission, arrest Sheridan and his cronies and finish this slaughter once and for all. Then Picard's ship was there. We thought it was an alien vessel waiting to pick up the pieces like some kind of scavenger. I wanted it removed from our territory as a warning to others."

"That's standard procedure."

"Yes, Sir. We were wrong, Sir, and my biggest mistake was in underestimating that ship. When Picard showed his face for the first time I naturally assumed that he was one of Sheridan's people. _Enterprise_ was so small that I didn't consider it too much of a threat – until they began firing on us and all hell broke loose. Those two vessels tore us apart and we couldn't even slow them down, not with their shields protecting them. _Pournelle_ hit them with two nukes at point blank range and I was enraged, but at the same time delighted, because _Enterprise_ was shooting holes in my vessel. You have no idea how helpless I felt when that ship just stood there bathed in nuclear fire. Then it fired two of their own missiles at the _Pournelle_ and when it was over, there was nothing left of her and her crew except maybe a few stray atoms. By then it was over and Picard was online again, smirking. He had me and I knew it. My crew stared at me, awaiting orders and there was nothing I could do. I had to tuck my tail between my legs and flee like a whipped dog. He destroyed me in the eyes of my crew." Terrell slumped for a moment and then drew himself to his full height. "If it had been the Minbari who had challenged us then it would have been different. But Picard was Human and there he was, ordering me away from the battlefield like I was some little child. There was nothing I could do. I had to endure the taunts while other Captains laughed at me behind my back."

"You hate him because he beat you," Griffin finally said to him.

"Yes, I hate him!" The captain was trembling. "I hate him because his ship is better than anything we have. I hate him because they take their artificial gravity, weapons and the technology onboard their ships taken for granted. They even make their own food! At this very moment, we're escorting them to Earth. What a joke. We're moving as fast as we can, while they consider this speed barely a craw. Why is it that their technology is so advanced and ours isn't? You said it yourself, Sir. The _Ambassador_ is less advanced than _Enterprise_. But what about _Voyager_? How much more advanced is it compared to the others?"

"It's far more powerful than either of the other ships and more luxurious. They do believe in their comfort."

"Yes they do," Drake snarled. "Sir, they could run all over us and look relaxed while doing it," he said. "Even at our best we couldn't stop them from taking over. I hate the fact that they can help us and not ask for anything. The Centauri-Drakh war proved to us what those Federation ships could do. That makes me afraid of what they could do us without half trying. Did you see what the _Ambassador_ did to that Minbari warship? Even the Minbari are concerned about them, so concerned that they had to prove that their ships were better than the Fed ships. And they lost!" there was a bit of laughter shared between both men. "I wish I could have seen their faces. They probably want to declare war just to reclaim their lost honor," Drake added bitterly. "Half of EarthForce is wetting their pants, praying that we won't ever have to go up against them. The other half thinks they're Gods gift to Humanity and probably would join up with them in a heartbeat. And you saw the recordings yourself; _Voyager_ stood up to one of those spider ships. And did you watch the whole conference?"

That was a stupid question Griffin thought. Everyone had watched the conference at _Babylon Five_.

"The Vorlons. We know as much about them as we do about the Federation. They were supremely pissed at the Feds. And they. Backed. Down. I think the Vorlon ships are even more powerful than the Shadow vessels and they're cautious around the Starfleeters. What does that tell us?"

So Drake was frightened of the others and used Picard as a focus for his hate and fear against the Federation, thought Griffin. Many in EarthForce shared that fear of the unknown and he understood that. But that same fear threatened to cloud the judgment against the real threat. The Sinhindrea had all but sterilized Mars and EarthForce was more desperate than ever to acquire new technology, and Starfleet had it to spare many times over.

Drake seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Why are we so far behind them? Why is it that we have to steal technology in order to advance whereas they seem to develop things at their whim?" Drake asked, frustrated. "When they came here, they claimed not to even know anything about hyperspace. Now they have more knowledge about it than we do, can travel faster and really don't need the beacons to navigate. Why are they so different? Why are they advancing so quickly?" he murmured.

"I'm not sure," Griffin confessed, "although I do have my suspicions. However that isn't the point. Your actions are interfering with your duty and your personal opinions are immaterial to this situation," he told Drake. If you can't maintain control, I will relieve you of duty right this second."

The Captain's mouth opened, then closed. He was shocked. "You can't relieve me of my command," Drake hissed.

"I can and I will," Griffin said. "If you jeopardize Earth's chance at recovery, your career will be over before the day is out. Try me if you want. EarthForce will hang you out to dry. You will lose your ship, your possibilities for promotion will be distant memory and your dismissal from the force will happen so fast you'll barely feel the boot than kicks you out the door. Then, I promise you, your life will go downhill from there. Listen to me. Earth needs this."

**_Babylon Five_:**

The Vorlons heard it and understood.

The Shadows heard it and were, at first, mystified.

The call originating from Z'ha'dum echoed throughout the subspace-hyperspace ether. Both of the First Ones understood its significance. The signal had originated not from the planet but from the gate. It had come through the gate, magnified by some artificial source near the shadow home world.

It was a transmission generated by a younger race.

-A very powerful race.

It was a Federation signal.

That meant that the rumors were true. The 'other' Humans were from the other side. They were from another universe. The unique quantum signature observed so long ago wasn't an anomaly as previously thought. There were no other First Ones keeping their Federation secret, away from the ever-searching eyes of the Vorlon Empire as first believed. It explained why their technology deviated so completely from what was deemed normal. It explained why they were so dangerous. It explained so many things.

This revelation changed everything.

The question was; what to do about it without alerting Lorien?

The Vorlons began to plan.

The Shadows were more alarmed by something else that had just occurred. The 'other' Humans weren't their main concern. Right now their survival and journey to the Rim were of the utmost importance.

Something was interfering with those plans and they intended to do something about it.


	53. Chapter 44 With Friends like These

_**Hey Everybody! Thank you! Bless you for commenting on TWS-the more confusing of the two stories! I even give out a half-felt 'hello' to Duquesnewho is a dedicated fan. Even though he hates the story he never misses a chapter! Good for you.Meanwhile here are some quick answers to some of the questions and commenst asked in the review section. **_

_**LcNessie: No. TWS and ATV are completely seperate realities however, they do share some of the same characters developed from TWS and later from ATV. I am only comparing them with the same personality, in different situations. **_

_**Now: there is no energy barrier at the Rim. Lorien you might say is the barrier. He has told the Shadows and Vorlons not to continue what they have been doing or he would personally make sure that they never be allowed to enter the Rim. By his wish, the other First Ones would not allow them to enter. So they have to play nice...yeah right. See story below.**_

**_EarthForce are highly xenophobic-politically that is. The fact is that most of Humanity is not. CLARK IS NOT! But his rise to power hinged on the prejudice and fears rooted deep within Humanity. He simply exploited those fears for his own rise to power. The people who followed Clark believed in him and his policies. A lot of the EF were not prejudice. Of course the Minbari war didnt help, but the Dilgar conflict didnt either. Humans got a bit to arrogant and holier-than-thou, and THEN ran into the Minbari. But again, as you saw in B5:OTL many Humans got along with aliens quite well. It was Humans with Humans you had to worry about._**

**_RTMiller: The stargate portion of this story will start next year. No goa'uld as in the TV series here. Using the Movie not the series, things will be radically different. I think I sent you the upcoming poster on 'Of Gods and Emissaries' . Also you're right, the Sinhindrea were located in a 'satillite' galaxy which is why they are seperated from the 'Milkyway' proper. I mentioned about the antimatter situation in the e-mail. However, the have sources even from the Narn. The Vree have been very happy with the deals made. More on this later. Ah, Anne Sheridan. She is around and will make her presence known but more in the upcoming 'OGAE' story. Legally dead or not, she is still breathing and John and Deleen will have to deal with it (heh)._**

**_ Draal and the great machine will be featured a lot more in th upcoming chapters._**

**_Now, on with the Story. _**

**Chapter 44**

"_**Which is worse? My so-called friends or my dedicated enemies?"**_

**USS _Enterprise-D_**

"Number One, what is it?" Picard demanded.

Something had just registered on the Enterprise's shield strong enough to trigger red alert on both the _Enterprise_ and _Ambassador_ as it was intended to do.

"It's a transmission," Commander Riker said. It's definitely Federation, designed to get our attention by interfering with our navigational shields. It's an older technique but it still works very effectively."

"I'm aware of that, Number One," Picard responded impatiently. "What does it say?"

"Sir," Data said, "although the transmission is designed to get our attention, its encryption is extremely sophisticated. I would postulate that the signal was meant for _Voyager_ and not us."

"We can't translate it," he finished irritably.

"Sir, Captains Garret and Sisko are signaling us as well as Lieutenant Commander Riker onboard the _Rantoul_."

"Put everyone on conference," Picard ordered. A few seconds later: "Riker, I assume your ship can identify the signal we've just received?"

"Yes, Sir," Commander Riker's twin said. "The signal was from the vessel Battlestar _Galactica_ on the other side of the gate. They were supposed to leave us and continue on their mission but there has been a change of plans. I've sent an acknowledgement of receipt so that they know that we're still alive. I am transmitting the updated encryption codes to you now used by the Federation as of now."

"Understood. What is the status on the other side of the gate?"

"Not good, Sir. The Sinhindrea are trying to storm the doorway. The _Galactica_ dissuaded them from getting through and the changed the codes to the mines guarding the gate."

"Captain," Data said once more. "We have the updated encryption codes."

"We should watch this together," Picard said. "I want you all over here so we can discuss this in my Ready room."

Garrett and Sisko nodded and cut the comms. Thomas Riker added a crisp, 'yes Sir' and did the same.

Ten minutes later, the group of Officers were cloistered inside the Ready room listened to the message transmitted by the _Galactica_. Picard wanted Admiral here as well but she was still in talks with Captain Sheridan and EarthForce General Brindley and couldn't be disturbed.

An older man, white-haired and carrying the weight of the world in his eyes was the first to speak. Thomas Riker identified him as Ex-President Adama of the Colonial Republic.

"_Admiral Janeway,"_ he began. "_Our returning to the location where the Children are will be of no use unless you accompany us therefore I have requested that Commander Apollo remain in the general area. The situation near the gate is grave. The aliens are trying to get through the mines by acts of brute force. We estimate that at least two hundred of their vessels, many of them warships have made it through before we stopped them. We have reconfigured the mines. However it will only be a matter of time before they punch their way through. If they succeed then we will be forced to destroy the gate using the mines and you will be trapped there. _

_We are heading away from the gate and we're cloaked however they are still able to track us. The Betazoids onboard have sensed their probing and believe that they are tracking us by way of telepathy. The Betazoids and other telepaths onboard the _Galactica_ are fighting it as if it were a virus trying to infect them. It also appears that the gate acts like an amplifier for the Sinhindrea's telepathy. The moment they detected us, several of our crewmembers appeared to be stricken with some form of dementia. The energy emissions in the gate – we are sending the data to you now – changed. The Vulcans seemed particularly vulnerable their influence. Apparently the suppression of their emotions is a detriment. Once we went to warp, the effect dissipated quickly. With the exception of the Vulcans, the other telepaths were able to not only resist but create a sort of interference that somewhat negated the Sinhindrea influence. We are therefore telepathically cloaked and their hunters have been so far unable to track us. If you have any telepaths or telepathic races, then it will be possible that they can help non-telepaths to resist being compromised. Good luck, Kathryn. _

Next appeared another Human, the Commander of the vessel. He was a man who appeared in his early fifties and bore a remarkable resemblance to the President._ "We are transmitting information on the update of the war. The Cylon Empire is being pushed back from Bajor and the wormhole. Captain Sisko has returned to Bajor and he, and the Alpha quadrant forces are in a temporary standoff. However a Basestar fleet is approaching and will be there in approximately ninety six hours. The Dominion fleet has traversed the wormhole. Six thousand warships will engage the Cylon taskforce far enough away from Bajor to keep the world from being damaged. The Pegasus Wildfire squadron and the second and third fleets of the Klingon Imperial defense forces will be engaging of second of two main Cylon production facilities at…" _

-+-

Captain Picard, Garrett and Sisko were utterly silent as they digested the information. Of all of the marooned, Benjamin seemed the most affected as another Sisko had appeared from seemingly nowhere to retake his place as the Emissary. For him it was confirmation; for the others it was a final nail in a coffin that they'd been making since they'd appeared in this universe. This information gave him the last push to allow him to move on and his directions were about to take a radical turn. Picard and Garrett having become settled with who and what they were listened, enraptured by a war they never imagined. Six thousand ships to protect one star system and again it was Bajor at the center of it all.

How he knew, Sisko couldn't be sure, but the war there had something to do with his mother and the other wormhole aliens. They were a threat somehow and the enemy wanted to eliminate them. There was something, almost an ethereal connection between him and his other, and he could almost feel the intensity emanating from that other universe. Tentatively, he stretched out with his mind but something gently pushed him away, telling him now was not the time. The connection was not broken, simply lessened. However one word came through clearly; a warning that could not be ignored. He quickly decided to honor the unspoken request. He only hoped the others would survive against their Cylon adversaries.

When this meeting was over he would ask Thomas Riker what if anything, did the word 'Borg' mean in relation to their universe.

-+-

_**Babylon Five:**_

This time, the meeting held in the conference room was a private affair. Captain Sheridan, Delenn of the Minbari, Kosh of the Vorlons, General Brindley and Ambassador at large Christov of Earth Alliance, and a Shadow lord, sat observing one another carefully. Guinan was also present as well as one other, a guest participant whose name was Galen.

General Brindley swallowed nervously as he prepared to begin. The Shadow and the Vorlon's presence kept him at the edge of panic. But he was surprised that he was this uncomfortable sitting in front of this Starfleet Admiral. "Admiral Janeway," he started. "Despite the obvious differences between our respective governments, I have been authorized to extend our most heartfelt thanks for providing a cure for our people. We don't know how long it would have taken find the cause, let alone a cure."

By his side, he could feel the Shadow alien bristle. He knew that if he had his weapon he would have started firing at the thing and never stop. Sheridan and Delenn were just as uncomfortable in the alien's presence. The Vorlon had strategically placed himself on the opposite side of the room from the Shadow. The Technomage – he knew what he was – seemed outwardly undisturbed. The ambassador Guinan and the Admiral seemed completely at ease in its presence and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why.

"Congratulate us if the cure works, General," the Admiral said with a touch of actual warmth... "This is what Starfleet does. Despite your beliefs we are not an aggressive organization. We're here to provide defense for our worlds and those under our charge. We're explorers, not conquerors."

Both eyebrows rose at that comment. "Yes," he said slowly. "Your weapons speak very eloquently for your actions. We have thousands of dead soldiers as a testament of your ideals."

"I am truly sorry at the loss of your people," she answered. "Just as I am sorry that your government gave orders fired on your own people, innocents that had no chance to defend themselves. I've read the incidents General. The attack on the _Ambassador_, the attack at _Babylon Five, _the attempted hijacking of_ Voyager," _she added letting it sink in. There have been hostilities on both sides, however I admit. But now it is time to begin the healing between us. If we can't get past this then your people, cured or not, will be swarmed by the Sinhindrea."

I recommend you listen to her," Sheridan said. "As it is right now, our planet is in dire straights. Once the cure is administered, it is going to take a long time for Earth to recover both militarily and economically. Our trust factor among the other races is at its lowest point. But here, at _B5_," he smiled almost laughing. "The trust factor is through the roof. We're even making another habitat on the opposite side of the planet to accommodate all of the refugees coming to us. General Brindley, it's only a matter of time that the Sinhindrea will come for us. We have a big bulls-eye pointed on this station, a station that screams 'Human'. They went after the other races to establish their threat. They came after Earth, because we're considered a threat."

"Because of the Federation," Christov snorted. He sighed. "There have been mistakes on all sides, mostly our own," the man admitted. "We should not have attacked your ship. It was wrong."

Brindley was shocked at that admission. 'Bulldog' Christov never admitted weakness to anyone.

"We need help," the Ambassador said. "President Susanna Luchenko has authorized us to come to terms with the Federation."

"How is she?" the Admiral interrupted.

"She is not doing as well. The plague has had a more deleterious effect on her than many of the others. But she is still in charge and wants a change. Earth Alliance will bow to the authority of Captain Sheridan here at _Babylon Five_."

"What!" Sheridan almost fainted. "I don't want this. This was never my intent!"

"Earth barely has a functional government," Christov said. "People and governments everywhere trust you. You're leadership will help us through these rough times. You've done more to advance Earth Alliance than anyone else, even if you had to start a revolution to do it."

'No," Sheridan insisted. "My intent was to make sure that Clark and his cronies stepped down and the constitution reestablished. I will not take over, whether it is given to me or not. That is final."

Galen's lips moved a bit in approval.

Kosh nodded. "Good."

Christov was somewhat at a loss. "We always assumed that you want this authority and the power that goes with it. Clark's whole agenda changed just to keep you from achieving this, and you don't want it?"

"Earth doesn't need another Clark, benevolent or not."

Well," Christov shrugged. "Then Earth Alliance would like to petition to become a part of this new alliance that is being formed." The man looked at them all. "Despite what you may believe, not everyone is a rabid racist. Most of the people on Earth have no problems with aliens. The last régime however felt it prudent to be aware of the possible threats other governments could pose. Evidently, President Clark went a little overboard with that mandate."

"A little?" asked the Captain. "You were his lapdog." Sheridan's response was harsh and Christov's head snapped back as if he had been slapped. "You followed orders that you knew were illegal. You threatened the lives of the men and women of this station as well as all of the others from dozens of different worlds. And you were worried about me wanting to be some petty dictator?"

"I was charged by my President to perform a duty which I did to the best of my ability," Christov retorted. "Whether you agreed with my orders is not my problem. I am proud to have served my country in the best way I know how. That's why I am here now and that's why Levy's hasn't yet accepted my resignation, Captain. We're going to have a lot of accusations and recriminations coming up in the new future."

"That's an understatement if I've ever heard one."

"It's going to be an embarrassing time," Christov continued as if he hadn't heard that last comment. "And believe me a lot of this is going to be buried and forgotten as quickly as possible. Yes, people are going to be judged, and that includes myself, and my actions. But it will include your activities as well. There are a lot of EarthForce Officers that want you court-martialed eight ways from Sunday for starting an armed rebellion against your own government! But we all will survive this mess and that is why I am here. We want an official cessation of hostilities and we want EarthForce personnel from all sides of this conflict to return. We also request that our Earth Alliance scientists and IPX be allowed to take the advanced classes in physics, biology, chemistry, and all of the sciences that the other races have participated in here at _Babylon Five_."

Sheridan smile widely at Christov and the General. This was one of the major reasons why they were here. All of the other races were taking advanced classes supplied by Starfleet; everyone except Earth Alliance and they were screaming mad. IPX, the somewhat independent science branch of the Earth Alliance, was especially unhappy and the rumors had flown fast and furious that the organization was behind the aborted attempt to steal Robby the United Planets robot. There was no definitive proof of course, and personally Sheridan didn't believe that IPX would attempt such a foolish action. Their reputation – from an official standpoint – was sterling and in all of the years he had been in EarthForce he had not heard of any untoward actions done by IPX. Of course there had been a few rumors but none of those had been proven, therefore he would give them the benefit of the doubt. "That's something that you will have to discuss with the Federation. You'll have to get their permission to take the classes."

"The classes are being given on _Babylon Five_," Brindley said. "_Babylon Five_ is Earth Alliance property. You are EarthForce and are therefore still part of Earth Alliance. Earth is being left behind technologically because of the actions being taken here. Humans are being discriminated against on their own station by other Humans – wherever they are from. And lastly in case you haven't noticed, we're not demanding anything, but we're asking nicely and hoping for the best."

"I see you're having some difficulty trying to back-engineer that stolen fighter," announced a laughing Sheridan. A moment later, Brindley allowed a small smile to erupt on his face. Christov merely shook his head.

"We've had some difficulty with the reactor, scanners and the weapons. We've made crude approximations but we're still years away from fully understanding the principles behind them. The polarized plating was a godsend and it makes me wonder why we hadn't developed it ourselves," he said, lost in thought. "But the metal itself, we couldn't reproduce. We've never seen anything like it and although it's made of elements we know of, we're still trying to accurately reproduce the alloy."

"You'll have to discuss that with the Admiral, Sir. However as for this station and myself being a part of EarthForce, that is not exactly true. _Babylon Five_ '_was'_ a part of Earth Alliance but it is becoming something more. It's becoming a rally point for the races. Everyone is coming here. We're going to war and this is HQ command central. No Sir. Earth does not own this station anymore. The station owns us now. We are a part of it. Think about it General," he continued. "A Human built space station is going to be the focal point for a new alliance between Humans and aliens on a scale never before dreamed of – in this universe."

"I don't think our people will appreciate our station being hijacked," Brindley said. "This is a point of contention, a matter of honor. I can see us giving it away, but not having it taken away. The political ramifications would be felt for decades."

Then it will be given back to Earth, when this war is over," Sheridan said with finality. "We'll build another one, Minbari and Federation based with input from the Narn and the Klingons."

Both Earth Alliance representatives were quiet, shocked at what was just said. Sheridan had indicated that he no longer considered himself part of EarthForce anymore.

"At this very moment," Delenn told them, "The Minbari, the Federation representatives of the Federation, the Centauri and the Humans of _Babylon Five_ are meeting to formalize an agreement to form a new interstellar government. There is even an association with the Soul Hunters. Your people are invited as well provided that you survive this current crisis. Captain Sheridan's name has been submitted to be the leader of this new organization."

"But," Christov stammered. "We want to be a part of this as well. However we want some say so concerning who shall become the head of this new government."

"Again, provided that you survive," Delenn said. "We believe that the cure will be successful but we, as you Humans would say, are still crossing our fingers and hoping for the best."

Brindley nodded vigorously. "A little luck can't hurt."

"And we will all need as much as we can accumulate," said Galen.

Christov was unaware of him and who he was. That was fine with him. The less one knew about the technomages the better the illusion. Galen's report had sent shockwaves throughout the tight-nit and secretive group called the technomages. Most of them had left the civilized worlds to escape the coming darkness. The Shadows had been moving in their secret places and infiltrating governments. And they knew of the Vorlon circle, their obsessions with order and the closing of their circle. This had been predicted by the greatest of them and they were all in agreement.

They left to escape the coming storm.

But Galen was told to watch and see and that is what he did. And what happened as he watched turned the universe on its collective head. That which should have been didn't happen as predicted. The circle had been once more completed but something new entered the universe and the rest would never be the same again.

He had been stunned by the presence of the Federation and their allies the Klingons. He had been amused, shocked and frightened by the woman called Guinan who was far more than she appeared to be. He had been surprised by the actions of Kosh and the subsequent actions by the Shadows. The Great War hadn't occurred as it should have. He had given his initial reports and his fellow technomages believed him to be mad. Each report seemed more absurd and more disturbing. Finally another one of their order was dispatched to confirm the information. And he was the one who witnessed the Soul Hunters joining the talks and making agreements with the other races including the Federationists.

Galen dared not listen in as he promised Guinan. In truth, she intimidated him a bit. She always knew what he had planned. His most sophisticated scans had always been detected or frustrated and now he did it simply to determine how fast, she could detect his little stunts. However he kept his word and did not try to interfere with Federation technology. Their firewalls were impressive and _Voyager's_ even more so. It would have taken too much time to crack them and his attempts would certainly be noticed. So, he left it alone no matter how great the temptation was.

However he was here now, officially representing the Technomages. The short and extraordinary intense conversations between his Order had demanded his presence at this meeting. With the Soul Hunters actively entering the war, the order's consensus was absolute. There was no way they could continue to isolate themselves while others took up the battle against this new and terrible darkness preparing to spread across the known galaxy. Once the others joined, their Order had to as well, or they would have become ostracized, known as cowards and eventually shunned when they were ready to come out from hiding. There was also the little fact that with the rapid influx of technology being developed so quickly, theirs would slowly become antiquated and that fact was extremely unappealing to them. Holography was just one example. Shadow technology was impressive but there were other sciences coming to the fore, and the Technomages intended to be a part of the new age.

"Who are you?" Brindley recognized him for what he was but the true significance escaped him.

"That '_is'_ the question, isn't it," Galen mused. "My Order wishes to help in the defense of coming storm. We have been hidden in the shadows long enough."

"And exactly what are you bringing to the table?" asked the General. Brindley, like so many others had briefed about the Technomages and there were a few in the government that wanted to do more than just talk to them. They had apparently developed sciences that had the science departments and the military willing to give legs and feet for. "You're hardly a power. You serve no government. You're a bunch of glorified magicians." He realized that he was baiting the man, but essential what he was saying was true.

"What we are," said Galen slowly, "is a power you don't understand and can't comprehend."

"Just what we need," Christov murmured, "another clandestine organization coming out of the woodwork." Louder: "We know almost nothing about you."

"And if God is with you, Ambassador, you never will."

That was a clear threat, one not lost on the Ambassador or the General. Wisely, they chose not to say anything more. However Kosh had turned in his direction and proceeded to scrutinize him carefully.

"We accept," he pronounced.

Secretly Galen was overjoyed. The Order was just that, an Order. They recruited to increase their numbers and they would need entire worlds of technomages to stem an attack by the Sinhindrea. Simply put, they were too small to affect change by themselves. Sheridan and Delenn were studying him as if he were some sort of new and interesting insect. He allowed them to do so as he smiled blandly at them in return. If the Vorlon accepted him, the n he knew the others would swiftly follow suit. He already knew where Guinan stood. That left only the Shadow. But something was wrong. He could feel it emanating from the entity trying to burst forth.

It didn't take long.

There was a moment's hesitation in the Shadow's voice, as if it were still deciding at the last second, whether to speak or not. Something was indeed wrong.

But, again, Galen noticed, that although cautious, the Admiral didn't exhibit the natural fear or dread that everyone else did in the presence of these foul creatures. What type of aliens or entities had she come across to cause her to feel so comfortable? It was interesting. It was most interesting.

"Admiral Janeway," the alien said. "There is a problem."

"Yes?" she asked. "What is it?"

**Sol system:**

The starship _Voyager_, upon achieving orbit was flanked by several somewhat wary Earth Alliance warships. Hostilities had ceased however, there were a few die-hard Clark supporters in command. One of them was a Captain Dexter Smith, a survivor of the _Babylon Five_-EarthForce debacle who was now part of the Federation escort.

'_To shoot or not to shoot',_ were the thoughts his mind continually came back to. '_That is indeed the question. But when to shoot is even more important'. _ His musings weren't serious as he had no intentions of attacking _Voyager_, but something had to be done about this situation. That battle had been lost – so be it; it was time to move on. Unlike some people, he looked at the bigger picture. He and his crew survived and that was enough.

Now, he was worried because there was no real government at this point. Sure, the President and the Senate was still in charge but they were sick and when the cure was administered and if it worked, then it would be weeks at the earliest before any type of stabilization would begin to assert itself on the planet. It was difficult to say the least to have a vulnerable interim government housed on a space station orbiting a plague world. The Military had no intentions of pulling a coupe but there was lots of grumbling. Ships were running on half rations and re-supply from Earth was impossible. Because of the quarantine, the mammoth drydocks and support stations' stores were dangerously low and being bled quickly. Damaged Earth Alliance ships, both civilian and military were totally dependent on their own stores and the good will of aliens. That last part goaded him to no end, however. He had no problem with aliens as some of his counterparts had, but like Clark he believed that Humans needed to chart their own destiny and not be dependent on aliens that would as soon kill you as look at you.

These Federation people were worse. Many of them were Human, but had no allegiance to Earth whatsoever and he could not understand that. This was their home, and even if they were from another dimension as some people claimed, they still should have had some sort of connection. They helped _B5_, but had not connected to Earth. Of course, Clark hadn't helped the situation by any of his actions, he reflected coldly. Things changed. Now Luchenko was in charge and he would follow her orders as he had sworn.

He sighed as he stared at the ISN ships and camera probes recording every movement of the Federation ship. Even with all of the death and destruction that had went on, they were still waiting for something else to happen, to titillate their voyeuristic obsession.That was all well and good. Every bit of information on _Voyager's_ capabilities and actions by its crew would be on record to be studies by everyone as soon as this was over.

_Voyager_ was now releasing a series of satellites that were placing themselves in synchronous orbit around the planet. For some reason, that he determined that he would find out about later, the signal had to be processed through a specialized transmitter that EA satellites didn't have in order for the cure to be effective; another safeguard by the Shadows.

They were receiving a transmission from the ship now. A now familiar face appeared onscreen.

"_In fifty minutes we will activate the signal that will begin deactivating and destroying the nanoplague infecting Earth,"_ the Captain of the _Voyager_ said. _"Once activated, the effect should be immediate. But according to our researchers, the first treatment inactivates the nanites. There must be a second treatment twelve hours later. It appeared to be a form of failsafe in case the creators decided to reactivate the plague. The second treatment causes the inorganic component to break down inside the body and that destroys the organic components shortly thereafter. We will repeat the process a total of three times to make sure that the entire planet has been exposed. Chakotay out."_

_**Babylon Five:**_

"What type of problem are we talking about?" Janeway asked suspiciously. The Shadow was actually fidgeting.

"There are those," the Shadow Lord began, "that were not under our control. They have been compromised by the enemy. Three of our ships have been monitoring the situation at the Earth system. One of those vessels is returning to Earth to destroy that world. We are giving chase but our ships are still not within range."

The entire room exploded.

"And you're just telling us this NOW?" Brindley and Sheridan screamed at the same time.

Guinan stepped up to the Shadow, her face only inches away from the alien. "These people were embarrassed to say anything," she said loud enough for the sake of the audience although she was speaking directly to the Shadow Lord. "For their own petty reasons, they would prefer that the planet and the people cease to exist; but Lorien's presence is forcing them to reveal this little fiasco."

The Shadow Lord rose, lifting itself up to her full height and everyone tensed ready for a fight.

"We care nothing for Earth," it said. "The young one betrayed us and we will have retribution. But we have also made promises to the First One and we will honor that promise. The ship that is going to destroy your world carries the code for the termination sequence."

"Explain," growled a very angry Kosh.

"The renegade vessel is of the first order, one of our most powerful vessels. It is old even by our standards and its crew is completely compromised. The crew possesses the code that will change the plague's programming. It will become lethal and your people will cease to exist in less than twenty-four of your hours."

"You have the cure!" yelled Sheridan. "Why didn't you use it?" That was a pure bluff. He didn't, for a second, expect that the Shadows would provide the cure of a plague of their making.

"The young ones discovered the cure," she said pointing accusingly at the Admiral. "There was no need for us to interfere with their endeavors now. And we have not interfered with the fate of your world. If the vessel transmits the code before you effect the cure, your people will die. If the young one transmits within range first, they will live. We will try to stop our vessel, but your world's fate is now in your hands."

"And that's all you're planning to do?"

The Shadow Lord's eyes glowed dangerously. "We promised to protect Earth, not save it."

"Janeway to _Enterprise_."

"_Enterprise_ here, Admiral. Is there a problem?"

Yes," she answered quickly. "There's a renegade shadow vessel in the vicinity of Earth's solar system. _Voyager_ must not allow the ship to transmit a signal that will reconfigure the plague into a lethal variant. They must stop it at all cost."

"_Acknowledged, Admiral. We've just received a message from a starship calling itself the Battlestar _Galactica._ You need to see this, Ma'am_."

"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen," she said. "Stand by. One to beam up."

"_Standing by_."

"Good luck," a terrified Christov said, meaning every word. Behind him Sheridan, Brindley and the others echoed the sentiment.

She nodded quickly and hit her combadge once more. "Energize."

**TBC **


	54. Chapter 45

_**Chapter 45**_

_**"Dreams and Revelations"**_

**Earth Orbit:**

Captain Smith ordered his ship to go on full alert the instant he saw _Voyager_ starting to change. He watched fascinated as the light gray hull began to glow and from nowhere armor covered the entire ship. Even the energy profile had changed. It had gone up; way, way up according to what his scans were telling him. He was backing his ship up now, preparing for an attack and the man was alarmed. If _Voyager_ decided to strike at Earth now, there were no other ships close enough to attempt to stop it except his ship and _Evanston_; and that was nowhere near enough to defend Earth against his vessel. Inwardly, he was close to panic when communications called for his immediate attention.

"What?" he growled. Despite their claims this Federation was too much of an unknown entity, too secretive for his tastes. They should have never allowed this vessel to enter Earth orbit. He half expected an ultimatum from the Federationist ship taking advantage of Earth Alliance's weakness and trust. What he heard was something else entirely.

"This report is from _Babylon Five_," the Comms Officer told him quickly. "There's a rogue Shadow vessel on intercept course. It's going to try to transmit a termination signal and kill everybody. _Voyager_ and all remaining ships are to stop it from transmitting at all costs.

"A shadow vessel?"

His people simply looked at him with uncertainly. The Shadow _Omegas_ were the closest ships they could compare it to but even those vessels did not come close. They'd never seen the real thing except on ISN and the image wasn't as clear as it should have been. The image had been jittery as if the cameraperson had been nervous videoing the ship. The images that came from B5 hadn't been much better. Those who had seen those vessels up close didn't want to talk about them.

"Sir, _Voyager_ is requesting that we interface our sensors with theirs. This way we can track the vessel as it comes in."

"They can do that?" he asked no one in particular. He thought about it for a second and then gave the order.

The collective gasp was clearly audible as tactical lit up with more information than they had ever thought possible concerning hyperspace was fed to them. Wave fronts, gravitational eddies, temperature flux; everything involving hyperspace was clearly identified at nearly a quarter the distance of a light-year. Every object was seen and identified by the Federation computers and clearly shown on the tactical display.

On a dozen different ships, EarthForce crews gaped at the data being fed to them. Federation sensors were powerful enough to see into hyperspace from normal space without a beacon-satellite interface! That was thought to be impossible at the resolution they were receiving telemetry from. Only the Minbari were thought capable of producing this kind of detail. This more than anything else indicated just how technically advanced these people really were.

The Earth Alliance would have no chance if the two of them went to war. But fate seemed to be in a merciful mood at this particular second. Alliance vessels could be clearly identified and marked as they headed back and forth in hyperspace and all of them were color coded blue with their transponders clearly identifiable. What caught their attention however, were the three red dots vectoring into the system. Two of the dots were trailing behind the first dot, falling back slightly as they tried in vain to keep up with incredible speed being generated by the first ship. All three of them were heading towards Earth. Already the lead ship had passed Jupiter. With the speed it was approaching, the enemy ship would be at Earth in less than twelve minutes.

Smith didn't understand Shadow tactics however it was a good bet that the signal had to be sent fairly close to the target in order for it to be effective. From a military standpoint that made little sense; but from a terrorist point of view it made perfect sense. The plague was a designed to be a weapon of extermination; something to be seen and experienced first hand. These Shadows seem to be the showoff types. They would want to make sure that you saw the death they envisioned for you coming. That smacked of supreme confidence, even more so than the Minbari.

"Sir, the Shadow vessel is three kilometers in size," Tactical Officer Lieutenant Asheed told him. "Power emissions are very high. If these readings are correct, then it'll take at least five to seven of our heavy ships constantly firing at least fifteen seconds to ensure a kill."

The Captain cursed. "We'll have to wait until it enters normal space before we can do anything. We're going to have to deploy everywhere along this vector here if we're going to have a chance to intercept them in time," he said pointing to strategic points along tactical. At least we'll be able to see them if _Voyager_ continues to provide us data."

"But it's not enough time," his First Officer complained.

The Captain nodded slowly.

What happened next would be discussed in military classes for the next thirty years. It was known that hyperspace was extremely unstable and as such the use of weapons inside hyperspace was usually a recipe for disaster. Further, with the exception of a few races no one was able to scan hyperspace while within normal space. Limited communication was possible using beacons as an interface, but not much more. It was also known that jump points had to be generated by using huge amounts of energy generated by jump engines utilizing Quantium 40. All of this thinking was about to change.

The power emissions on the Federation starship were focusing the power in space right in front of their ship. _Voyager's_ deflector dish continued to pump out power, producing a small, localized distortion of space. As the EarthForce crews and officers stared at the phenomena, it slowly took shape in the form of a pulsating, quasi star-like vortex, hanging some five hundred meters in front of them.

"Call them," Smith demanded. "I want to know what they're doing. For the life of me, it looks like some type of jump point."

"It can't be, Sir," Asheed insisted. "It's too small. The shuttle couldn't even squeeze through a jump point that size. And these readings are not consistent with any jump point data at all." I believe we're looking at something entirely new."

"Sir, _Voyager's_ online."

"_Voyager_, please explain your actions," the man practically screamed.

"We're about to force the Shadow vessel out of hyperspace at a place of our choosing, not theirs," the Federation Captain responded. "Specifically, we are using our navigational deflector to redirect generated subspace emissions at a specific frequency in order to generate an entry point into higher subspace. We're tracking the Shadow warship and will be using reconfigured quantum torpedoes fitted with tri-cobalt warheads to force it out of hyperspace where we can deal with it properly. I would strongly recommend that you tell any friendly vessel in hyperspace to get out of the way and vacate the area at least three thousand kilometers from the expected blast radius. We're firing in two minutes."

Smith didn't hesitate for a second. He heard Colonel Griffin already warning com traffic of the situation and tactical showed ships in hyperspace already moving away from the Shadow vessel as fast as they could. Several EarthForce vessels including the undamaged _Omega_ class warship _Charon_ began to take up positions near Earth orbit. _Voyager_ continued releasing the last six of the satellites into orbit.

"How are they doing that?" one of his Officers murmured. The non-jump point pulsated, growing slightly larger as they watched.

_Voyager_ continued to constantly generate the jump point without apparent difficulty and the EarthForce crews couldn't believe how much power was being continually manipulated to keep the hole into hyperspace open. Standard physics indicated that opening and maintaining a jump point required tremendous power that a ship could only generate for a few seconds at best. Only jump gates with huge amounts of quantium 40 and arrayed fusion reactors could keep a hyperspace doorway active for this long. Yet, they were here witnessing the impossible. What they could do with vessels like that! Earth Alliance could change the galaxy with ships like that one.

"Sir!"

Smith turned in time to see the starship fire four blue, pulsating missiles into the jump point. The jump point phenomenon dissipated and he turned to watch tactical as it still displayed the missiles, under guidance of _Voyager's_ sensors, heading towards their target while in hyperspace.

"I wish we could do that," he said to no one in particular. No doubt about it, he thought. He was proud that Humans, even if they were kidnapped colonials were able to create such wonders. While at the same time, he was appalled by the thoughts that Earth Alliance hadn't developed such things themselves. And now they had to because eventually everyone would assume that Humans had this technology in the first place and would come for it.

- It would be another problem Humans would have to deal with in the future.

His attention was drawn back to tactical as the first missile headed towards its target. Incredibly, the first missile was struck down by the Shadow energy beam. The second missed but exploded near the vessel and the energy wash nearly overwhelmed the tactical display. The huge shadow vessel wisely changed course and swiftly accelerated away from the two remaining missiles altering their original trajectories and chasing it.

"Sir, it's moving out of range. They won't be able to track it in a few seconds."

The words were barely out of Asheed's mouth when the starship's engines suddenly flared bright blue and the ship seemed to stretch and disappear. There was an accompanying concussive wave that buffeted the Earth Alliance ship.

Smith cursed loudly. "What happened?" he demanded, turning to his people. "Did _Voyager_ blow up?"

"No, Sir. I believe that was the result of the distortion wave as they went to light speed. It's completely different than anything we've seen."

"My god. How long did it take for them to make the transition?"

"According to our sensors, they accelerated to FTL in less than half a second, maybe faster. They're still feeding us data, Sir."

The Captain thought that he heard someone mutter, '_impossible'_, but he simply nodded. Acceleration like that should have turned the entire crew into a thin paste on the bulkheads. Since they were still alive, and he still had trouble believing that, he knew that their inertia dampers and artificial gravity secrets alone could make him richer than Midas, if he had the patents. Too bad. But for right now he'd settle for staying alive.

"_Voyager_ is tracking the Shadow vessel in hyperspace. The missiles are still on its tail."

"Good," Smith said. That'll give us time to shore up our defenses in case she fails."

**_Minbar: The Enclave of the Wind Swords at Tuzanor-Shanzi:_**

The city of Yedor, the capital of Minbar had been destroyed. Ninety-five million Minbari were confirmed dead. The Federation was enraged and terrified. The entire war-machine, four thousand ships of the line, were preparing for battle. The Minbari were of one accord. Nothing like this had galvanized the three major clans like this, not even the death of Dukhat. The Minbari race intended to wipe the Sinhindrea from existence. It was the most hideous in a series of blows to both physically and emotionally to the people.

Twenty of the highest ranking clan member had gathered together to watch the proceedings at _Babylon Five_. What they saw, what they discovered, had shocked them to their cores.

**-+-**

"Why would the Grey Council agree to this– union with the lesser races?"

Shakiri turned to face the young warrior known as Bhurlee, the son of the Sarai of the same name. Unlike his father, the son had chosen to follow the call of the warrior caste. It is the logial thing to do and I personally applaud the wisdom of the council. When they arrive home, I will personally congratulate them on their decision. They've done something, given our people hope."

"As Delenn and the others said, we do need allies. But the Earthers? They're in far worse shape than we are. They are weak from civil war, attacks by the Centauri and the Drakh. If they survive the plague, then they will not worth that much, to our cause."

"They are weak," Shakiri acknowledged. "But as we all know, they are stubborn and they will fight no matter what. Besides they are needed. They are the reason why the Sinhindrea attacked us. It was a warning for us not to associate with them. Those creatures don't want us to join the Earthers."

"That is one theory."

"And I am not one to take intimidation lightly. The creatures are afraid of us and our potential to do them harm," Shakiri responded. "They are afraid of our righteous retribution, as they should be. But they are also afraid of the Humans, and I do not mean the Earthers. The Federation Humans with their technology are a threat to them and by extension the Earthers."

"But that is exactly the point. You have studied the reports by Aalaan, Neroon and Rannaonn. I admit that even faced with the reality I still feel that it's somewhat unbelievable. I know it's true and I acknowledge that some of the technology in their possession will threaten our position and leaders of the young races. This should not be permitted. Our planet's security would be at stake. The younger races will not use this newfound technology wisely."

"True, but at this point, an alliance with _Babylon Five _forces, the Centauri and the Earthers is exactly the opportunity we need. The Centauri will fight and they will not bother us after this is over. The forces at _Babylon Five_ and the Starfleeters are too small to be of much influence. We will be the pre-eminent power as we have always been. Earth Alliance will barely be a shell of its former self. It is my intention, when this is over, to make what is left of them a protectorate of Minbari. It will be our responsibility to make sure that any of the sciences deemed too volatile for the younger, less mature races will be managed with care – by us. I ask you, what would happen if the Narn or the Drazi acquired such sciences?" As he stared at the others, they were in agreement. No one wanted that type of technology in the hands of those races. "We will be in charge of these technologies as we have no desire to be force to subjugate the younger races to our wisdom. We do have a need to protect ourselves from any upstart race that will threaten our position in the future. But for now, we and the others are on our own."

"The Vorlons will help us rid us of the threat as well, however in the light of recent revelations," said Howlek with more than a trace of hostility trembling in his voice. "I begin to believe that they may have been as much of a threat as the Shadows."

Shakiri's laugh was bitter. "They were supposed to be our allies," he growled.

"They've manipulated us; damaged our race in ways we could have never imagined," Bhurlee snapped. "Our forbearers trusted them and we blindly followed them as if they were gods. Now they associate with the Shadows as if nothing has happened. Nothing good can come of this. A thousand years preparation, all for nothing."

"You are wrong, Bhurlee," countered the First of Warriors. "Our war with the Shadows may not have happened, but the universe abhors a vacuum and has freely given us another one to be concerned about. We should thank the Vorlons for having us prepare as we have. We will meet this challenge. But this is not the time for the Religious and Worker castes to be in charge of our people. That responsibility falls to the Warrior castes." He looked at the other warriors who silently agreed. "We will not, we must not take a back seat to our responsibilities. Let Delenn unify us; that's what she does best. There is no one who can succeed her in this opportunity. Then when her job is done, she can rest and we will assume our rightful place. Then we will solidify our base, find this Human-based Federation and deal with them accordingly. The _Babylon _project is a flawed system, but it is a good idea. We will use that idea to make sure that Minbar's future is safeguarded. And we can also correct the flaws so that the younger one will be properly protected."

Of one accord, they all bowed. Shakiri smiled at the glory of a bright future.

_**Shadow vessel: Earth territory** _

Telepathic tendrils had called to the crew, ordering them, enticing them to destroy the Humans in their universe. The Sinhindrea call was extraordinarily seductive and overpowering for those who had not shielded themselves properly during the first war. Z'ha'dum gate war was a turning point for the civilization of those whom others called the Shadows. When the Sinhindrea exited the gate, the war with them lasted three weeks. Millions on both sides died as the Shadows tried their best to regain control or destroy the abominable Vorlon-built doorway to another universe. In the end, the Shadows lost the battle. But the defeat was more devastating than many knew. Many of the Shadow aliens along with their ships had been telepathically compromised. The seduction had been subtle and the Sinhindrea's influence had been boosted by the gate. Some of those compromised attacked others of their own kind. A few went into hiding to be used later as the time arose. This was such a time.

Young races were supposed to be easy to destroy and until recently, that had been true. The younger races were traditionally isolated, and generally distrusted one another. The younger races possessed little that could stop the Shadow firepower, however things had changed radically. They had begun to work together, their weapons technology was improving rapidly and the appearance of the 'others' now known to be interlopers from another universe, were rapidly changing the balance power structure of the local races in this sector of the galaxy. The Sinhindrea had demanded that they be destroyed and the compromised shadows were eager to do so, as part of them agreed with that decision. But there were only a very few Sinhindrea-controlled Shadows left in positions of power and the attempted extermination of the Earth planet had been more difficult than first anticipated. Too many things had gone wrong.

First, the Battle crab had been detected long before it should have been, the Earther defenders warned. Next, the extradimensionals were defending earth and had discovered the cure to the plague that had served the Shadows for a million years. And now they were chasing the vessel in a previously unused kind of lower hyperspace that the shadow vessel could not enter. And it needed to get close enough to transmit the signal, a requirement by the Shadows so that those destined to die could see the enemy that they destroyed.

It was never considered that they would have to fight this hard to get into range.

One of those deadly missiles had been destroyed; the second got close enough to detonate and that explosion was enough to nearly force it out of hyperspace. The other two battle crabs were trying to destroy it and the compromised battle crab had to avoid both their deadly beams while trying to keep its distance from the blue glowing orbs. Turning quickly the ship screamed its weapon at the nearest enemy crab, cutting several of its spines from the body. Badly wounded, the ship lost its ability to continue the chase and began to drift while the second crab continued pursue. In its joy it almost forgot about the two glowing missiles chasing it. Both exploded near it. The shockwaves combined with the vulgarities of hyperspace and magnified the effect. Waves of deadly energy buffeted and the crab was forced to phase out of hyperspace to avoid being damaged beyond the ability to repair with the time it had.

The second battle crab immediately phased into normal space as well. Screaming it launched itself at its much larger twin. It fired, slashing the compromised crab across its dorsal area. It would have retaliated however; the young race ship was right on top of it, fire its phased energy beams and another beam weapon not yet identified by the crew.

Savagely, it twisted out of the way of the weapons fire that only missed it because it was trying to avoid hitting the other battle crab. The crew knew the situation was grim. At three kilometers in size, instead of being an ultimate threat, it presented a huge target and two both of its opponents were supremely dangerous. The crew decided to take out the younger race's vessel first as it was more of an unknown and as such a bigger threat. Defensive cells powered up as targeting organelles locked onto the target now going evasive as it became aware of the threat. Its beam lashed out, briefly connecting before the ship moved out of the way. Immediately its destroyer beam also lashed out at the other crab to make sure it didn't become two overconfident. That crab screamed loudly – music to its ears. Then it found itself screaming as the younger races ship burned though sensitive armor, penetrating the ships inner body. Again it twisted out of the way and concentrated on the starship. This time the crew fired at full power hitting the ship squarely in the center of the saucer portion. The beams never touched the ship and its shield energy signal hadn't dropped as much as it had done before. Angered and concerned now, the Commander of the battlecrab realized that the younger races ship had somehow compensated for their beam weapon. It had to modify its own weapon before it was too late.

The crew scrambled to reconfigure the organic center's brain but it really was too late. The Human telepath core had been all but burned out by the damage inflicted by the enemy. It would take too many precious seconds to install their spare. The enemy beam struck again with enough power to burn all the way through the ship. Crewmembers exposed to vacuum screamed their defiance and dismay as they died. The Commander, unable to complete its mission as ordained by its third space masters screamed as well. Then the iso-magnetic disintegrator weapon ripped the ship in two. The rest of the crew and the ship itself died shrieking.

The surviving battlecrab took a moment to reflect on what had just occurred. The compromised crab and crew were dead, killed by these aliens. This was the third ship to die by their hands and the Shadows didn't like it one iota. It wavered, as the crew decided if attacking the vessel and destroying it now even at the cost of their own lives, was worth it.

The Commander of the battlecrab made a decision and phased back into hyperspace to collect their wounded companion. The time could come and they would extract their revenge if it were to be so. The spider-like ship phased into hyperspace even as the starship turned gracefully and jumped into light speed back towards the planet the Earthers unimaginably called Earth.

_**That other Universe:**_

_**Battlestar Galactica: System J-8241**_

"Weapons fire! We have incoming!"

"Shields to full," Apollo snapped. "Range!"

The scanners officer never took her eyes off of the screen. "Six thousand metrics," Celestraela responded quickly. "It'll be on top of us in less than four microns!"

"Brace for impact!"

The energy pulse struck the shields of the _Galactica_ cascading around the entire ship. The ship glowed briefly as the energy wave flared up, then disappeared as it penetrated the shield. Then it penetrated every deck on the vessel. Everyone was momentarily blinded by the brilliance.

"It's the probe," Adama managed to say. "V'Ger!"

At the sound of the name the energy wave condensed turning into an overwhelming cascade of white light and noise. Then there was absolute silence followed by a gentle hum as the light began to change forming into a humanoid shape, one that Adama had seen before. The column of light slowly moved to face the old Colonial. He watched mesmerized as a pair of dark brown eyes enthralled him. They were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen. The rest of the body completed its formation and he was stunned once more as he looked down and saw a child about three months old cradled in woman's arms.

She, a child of V'Ger, now had a child of her own. Three weeks earlier she was, Adama judged to be about seven months pregnant.

Starbuck," he heard Apollo said. "Make sure that security stays off of the bridge. Antagonizing her would be disastrous. Everyone, no aggressive moves and please don't point anything at her. She seems interested in my father."

'_Indeed she did'_ Adama thought surprisingly. Apparently there was something about their last meeting that made an impression upon her.

She stared at him once more and proceeded to walk around the bridge in the exact same way as she had done once before. The image of perfection stopped in front one of the women and seemed to scrutinize her in minute detail. She turned towards Adama and smiled. His heart fluttered as she cocked her head slightly and energy pulses surrounded her like a seductive cloud.

The pulses formed into a form of clothing covering her nude body and every male watching didn't know whether to clap or curse the change. But one of the women did manage to murmur, "thank the Lords of Kobol. Maybe all of you can start thinking again."

As before, occasional bright flashes of energy gently caressed her body from head to toe and her hair, longer than before moved on its own as if blown by a non-existent wind. From her face down to her toes, both her Deltan and Human heritages were unmistakable.

Adama flushed slightly. Even at his age, this female was affecting him to no end and he praised God that his wife wasn't here right now or he'd spend the rest of his years listening to her rant about this. But the clothing really did help his state of mind immensely-

-As did the presence of the child. The girl's eyes were a soft brown like her mother's. He watched as she moved towards him, stopping less than ten centimeters from him. She did not feel threatening so he stood his ground.

"The stuff of stars is within her," he whispered.

She stared into his eyes and he was almost lost. _'Please',_ he prayed_. 'Don't let my wife find out…' _

"_You are the Adama unit,"_ she said to him.

"Yes," he answered quickly. "And you are the child of V'Ger."

"_The V'Ger unit no longer exists,"_ she said in almost musical but at the same time mechanical tones_. "We are V'Ger. We are the children units of V'Ger." _

"Why have you come here?" he asked. "Why now?"

"_I wish to learn,"_ she answered.

"And I wish to talk to you."

"_Then we will learn together,"_ she said. Then she threw the child towards the bulkhead as if it was a piece of trash. The child bounced off the wall and hit the floor. Immediately, three of the nearest crewmember ran towards the gurgling baby who seemed no worse for wear. Adama was appalled at the child's treatment by his mother. She seemed undisturbed at the possible consequences of her actions.

"Why did you throw your child like that?" he demanded.

"_The Adama unit wishes to learn. I wish to learn. The child would interfere with the learning,"_ she said.

"You should not throw your child around like that."

"_Why?" _

"Because it is part of you and the other," he said. He was angry at the mother's callous attitude, but he quickly suppressed it. She had no idea that what she'd done was wrong. That gave him an opportunity to approach her from a different standpoint. He ordered the crewmen to bring the child to him. He cradled the little one and spoke to her as he had once did his own infant children and grand children. Then he played the little one, touched her cheek, and laughed made funny faces. He repeated the action with the perplexed child. The child smiled then laughed, thinking that this creature holding him was the funniest thing it had ever seen. Then Adama lifted the child gently and wiggled back and forth playfully. Having never experience this before, the child was in heaven as she immediately began to bond with the Human.

"_Why do you do that?"_ his mother demanded. The female was showing the bare beginnings of jealousy. _"The child will interfere with our learning." _

Adama took note and pointedly ignored her emotion. Instead, he gently smiled at the female. "This _'is'_ learning," he said to her softly. "I am bonding with your child. We are each connecting to the Human that is within us. I am Human. Do you concur?"

"_V'Ger concurs." _

"You are a blend of Human and Deltan bonded with the probe V'Ger. You possess knowledge that spans this universe."

"_Yes." _

"But you have no idea how to treat a child," Adama concluded.

"_The child is unimportant,_ "she answered rather defensively. _"It is a simple result of procreation."_

"You have the knowledge," he told her. "But you what you do not have is an understanding of what it means to have and love a child." _"Love serves no purpose,"_ she responded_. "That emotion is a manifestation of biological impulses." _"I think you will learn that love is more important than you have ever imagined. Look at your child. How do you think she feels?" _"How the carbon unit feels is of no importance,"_ the female said_. "The infant carbon unit is healthy. That is the only fact of importance." _Adama's only reaction was to raise his eyebrows at her. The young entity was suddenly becoming defensive, referring to her child as a 'carbon unit'. An idea began to form and decided to pursue it. "What is your child's name?" _"Carbon unit three." _"Do you have a name?" he asked. _"Offspring of V'Ger." _

-+-

To be continued


	55. Chapter 46 A little taste of Clark

**_Chapter 46_**

"**_A little Taste of Clark"_**

**or**

"**_More Revelations and some really bad news"_**

**_Battlestar Galactica:_**

President Adama invited the female entity to sit. She did so and he began to explain to her the importance of names.

"The Human part of you comes from a man called William Decker. The female portion was named Ilia from the planet Delta IV. Even Voyager VI had a name – V'Ger. But you don't have one, just offspring of V'ger. Does that not seem strange to you?"

"_Names are unimportant."_

"Oh, I disagree," he said to her. "I believe that names are very important. They identify who we are but sometimes names also identify what we are. My name is Adama; my son's name is Apollo. My other son whom I have lost was named Zack. I have a daughter named Athena."

"_My name is Offspring of V'Ger."_

"That is what you are, not who you are."

"_This unit does not understand."_

"V'Ger, as we knew it, doesn't exist anymore. It's you who exists, now; you, your brothers and sisters and children and there are more of you being born. You all are the beginnings of a new race, immensely powerful, immensely knowledgeable, but very young and impressionable. Do you remember what happened when you touched me the last time?"

It had been an impulse; to reach out and make the connection. He touched her hand. The shock of the contact staggered them both as energy flowed back and forth between them. The female entity had stepped back, stunned at the sensation.

"'A human touch…so much.'" That is what you said. And I asked you if you understood. I told you that Humans are a diverse community and that diversity gives us strength. It protects us and those we care for and love. At that moment of contact I gave you a name."

"_What was that name?"_ the woman asked. She was genuinely curious.

"I named you Ilia daughter of Ilia. She was taken by V'Ger and destroyed to create a construct, a probe to speak to us 'carbon units'".

"_V'Ger believed that the carbon units were not true life forms."_

Adama noticed that there was an almost sadness in her voice. "But you are a true life form and you are partially carbon-based."

"_Ilia – I concur."_

"You have emotions that are a part of your design. You cannot ignore them and you will find that they give you strength in times of need."

"_Emotions are illogical. They are troublesome."_

But you must deal with them and as illogical as they are, they do help. Look at you child in my arms. Ilia, how do you think she feels?"

He had used the name purposely and she responded without difficulty. _"She seems happy." _

"Then why are you upset with me?"

"_She responds differently. The infant carbon unit does not respond me in that manner,"_ she answered. Her voice had become slightly more mechanical.

"Then hold your child as I am doing with her now." Carefully he gave the baby back to the woman. This creature was here to learn and he determined to teach her as much as he could about being Human as he could in the time he had. "Isn't she beautiful?"

As she cradled the child as Adama had, the child gurgled happily. The woman began to glow slightly in an unearthly beauty that took everyone's breath away. The smile on her face was truly radiant and Adama couldn't help feeling an attachment for this young woman.

"She's yours and you're hers. Think of a name for her," the old Colonial suggested.

The response came without hesitation._ "I will call her Suchita."_

"It is a beautiful name," Starbuck ventured. "Does it have any meaning?"

"_In my mother's language it means 'beautiful one'. Adama unit, I require more information on emotions."_

"Please call me Adama," he said. "I would be honored to help you. But I must first warn you of a dire threat to you and your growing family. We tried to once before but you sent our ships into this sector of space."

"_You had a Borg unit infesting the companion ship."_

"Seven of Nine was freed from the influences of the Borg collective. She now calls herself Annika Hansen-Chakotay, in honor of her parents and her husband."

"_My others would not allow Borg to infest our space."_

"I understand that. We knew that there was a risk having her onboard but we wanted you to understand that she is now a part of Humanity once more. The Borg are a continuing threat to everyone. But there is another threat. That threat is the Cylon Empire. They have allied themselves with the Borg. We know that they are trying to contact you as well."

"_We have seen their vessels. But they have not yet been allowed into our space. They are not Borg." _

"They want to make contact with you in order to find the machine society that turned _Voyager VI_ into V'Ger. If they succeed then all life such as mine will cease to exist. They will destroy us all."

"_The machine Intelligum does not destroy life forms."_

"But the Cylons will. They have been changed once into more powerful machines that we are at war with. If they can convince the machine Intelligum to improve them once more, then they will destroy all life in this galaxy. It is what their basic programming is designed for."

"_If they are improved, then they will not destroy carbon-based life forms."_

"If this were a perfect universe that would be true. But they are controlled by another force, an entity that is evil beyond comprehension. It is he who created the programming that is allowing the Cylon war machine to exterminate everyone.

"_V'Ger was incapable of believing in higher life forms. We, his progeny believe. The Cylons are true life forms. They will not destroy organic life forms without reason."_

You're wrong, Child," Adama quietly told her. "This war is a struggle for power. Untold billions will cease to exist if the Cylons are allowed to succeed in their quest."

"_Illogical."_

"Can you 'feel' this sector of space?"

"_Affirmative."_

"Please scan this area of space and tell me what you find."

"_That is unnecessary,"_ she told him. _V'Ger produced detailed scans during its travels. I have the necessary data._" She seemed to go blank for a second. _"There is only one life form in this sector of space for ten thousand light years in any direction. All other life has been extinguished."_

That one life form that we call the Sinhindrea has killed every other kind of life that it could find. They believe only they have the right to exist. As illogical as it seems, it does happen. The Cylons will do the same thing if they can because they are compelled to do so. If they can find the Intelligum, then hope for my kind is lost."

"_The Borg are the true enemy."_

"The Cylons associate with the Borg."

"_They are incompatible."_

"Yes, they are," he confirmed. "However they have come together for their own mutual benefit. Have you wondered why you hate the Borg so much?"

"_They have tried to assimilate this unit on twelve occasions. We have destroyed them. The Borg continued to come. They become stronger each time."_

"Do you know why they want you?"

"_They wish to achieve perfection."_

"Yes, they wish to achieve perfection by enslaving and dissecting you and your children. They will force their ideals on you whether you like it or not. Your opinions on the matter are irreverent."

"_We will not submit,"_ she said. The certainty in her voice left no room for doubt.

"Neither will we; for the same reasons. We will fight the Sinhindrea. We will fight the Cylons and the Borg with everything we have. Our freedom is ours and we will not lie down and die so that soulless machines and monsters may fight over what is left of a dead galaxy. We will fight for the lives of our children just as you would."

Once more her face brightened as she stared at him and then her child. Then just as suddenly, something caught her attention. _"This exchange of information will continue at another time. We must go. They are coming. We cannot be here,"_ she finished. Her form was fading now, turning back into a column of light. It wasn't as bright this time. _"Stay hidden,"_ her voice said as it echoed throughout the _Galactica_. _"Return to the point of origin and when you do the barrier will allow you in. Adama," _the voice said._ "Adama unit, be safe." _The energy column faded as if it had never existed at all. There was a sound of a child's contented giggle and then all was silent.

"Passive sensors on full," Starbuck ordered. "Maintain full stealth. We may have been detected."

"Has anything scanned us?" Apollo asked.

"Scanners read negative."

"What caused her to run like that?" asked Apollo as he examined the scanner readouts. A moment later, he and Starbuck were both cursing loudly.

Apollo's face flushed with anger and dismay. "Those are transwarp emissions! It's a big signal."

The signature was clearly identifiable. "It's the Borg," hissed Adama.

**_Earth- Alpine Prison:_**

Three hours since the treatment. Morgan Clark could think again without the constant soreness being his constant companion. He stretched, euphoric by the movement's lack of pain. Of course he was still sequestered, jailed really in a maximum security prison, one of several he had ordered built to house dissenters, traitors and any others who had conspired against him. Sheridan's cronies actually succeeded in curing the plague. That success had just added to the list of things that Sheridan had to be punished for.

His entire life, everything that he had strived for, had been nullified by that man. If only he had known, the he would have had Sheridan killed at the very first opportunity. This was all his fault. If he had surrendered _Babylon Five_as he should have-to its rightful government none of this would have happened. Not for the first time Morgan wondered why the universe had conspired against him so. Even his associates couldn't do anything with Sheridan, not with the Minbari and his Federation allies around all of the time. The ex-President still berated himself for not destroying _B5_ when he had the chance to do so. He should have used every means in his disposal to destroy that station, despite what that fool, Morden had ordered.

The good thing was that security had lessened somewhat because of the number of guards succumbing to the effects of the disease. And because of that, opportunity beckoned. There were people still loyal to him.

They were coming for him now to rescue him from this purgatory while things were still in a state of flux. The biggest problem had been where to escape go. Proxima III was a nonviable solution; there were too many traitors there. Orion 7 was a bit far out but again, too popular with seditionists forces. So they were forced to flee to one of the smaller colonies at the edge of Earth Alliance space. His loyalists had contacted as many friendly military officers as they dared. There were a total of sixteen warships that would support him, not nearly enough to protect him if Luchenko and her cohorts came after him. He winced at the thought of her name he should have killed her when he had the chance, but if he had attempted to do anything then the Russian Consortium would have been all over him. And with the number of ships at their command, it would have been a very bloody civil war. No, there had been no cost-effective way he could have done away with her and now he'd paid for that decision. She had his job.

He wanted it back but that was impossible now. The only thing he could do was save his own self. He knew that they'd kill him before he could get to trial and tell his own side of the story. There were too many people he could implicate; too many of them, senators, military officials, local governments, industrialists, the remnants of Psi-Corps trapped at _Babylon Five_, would go all to jail. It was time for him to disappear to some back-water world. And one day, maybe he would return when he had been proven right. There were a couple of secured scientific stations only a few people knew about and that was as good a place as any to hide for now.

_**The other universe**_

_**The Borg:**_

Two combat cubes and a diamond-shaped command vessel that defied conventional description exited from transwarp to warp three light years from the dimensional doorway. A Borg presence had not been present in this part of space for decades. However sensors confirmed the obvious. There was no life within four light years and it was logical to assume that in this small offshoot galaxy, so closely connected to the Milky Way, that there would be little life, if any, found anywhere. Species six-nine-one-one was very thorough in exterminating all life in whatever form and wherever it they would find it.

The last direct contact with the Species six-nine-one-one was one hundred years earlier. Three Borg cubes entered Species six-nine-one-one's space and were promptly attacked. Two cubes were destroyed. The third cube, found itself under telepathic attack by this ancient aquatic-based life forms. The Hive mind was almost compromised and the third cube left as their purpose was to find the children of the probe designated V'Ger rather than assimilating a new species.

During that time the Borg had begun to expand radically. The transwarp hub was discovered and repaired. More species were being assimilated and the Borg concentrated solidifying their hold on the Delta quadrant. New technologies were assimilated making the Borg even stronger. Unchecked, the Borg would have dominated the Delta quadrant and spread like a cancer throughout the galaxy. However, there had been setbacks originating from the most unlikely sources. Species eight-four-seven-two decimated much of the Borg population and destroyed many Borg-controlled worlds. The Machine Intelligum refused all attempts towards communication. And the Federation, as primitive as they were, had nearly struck a deathblow to the entire Collective.

The queen whispered the name, "Janeway."

Hatred was irrelevant. But the queen DID hate her. She was primarily responsible for fracturing the Collective. And she was still alive. Whatever Janeway now did was of interest to the Borg. The new _Voyager_ came here to this desolate place for some reason and the queen wanted to know why she had abandoned her search for the children during such a critical time. Janeway was needed so that the Borg could ultimately gain access to the children of V'Ger. The Borg themselves could not get near them but there were others who could.

An alliance between the Borg and anyone would have been something that the Federation and hundreds of thousands of victims eventually assimilated by the Borg, would have considered impossible. But that belief was borne from ignorance of the Borg. They had made alliances and a few of them had been fruitful for all sides. But that was hundreds of years past. Now, the Borg, hitting a threshold point some one hundred forty years earlier, were far less discriminating. However, recently they had made an alliance of sorts for their own mutual benefit.

The Borg queen touched the hive mind of combat cube six-eight-seven and then transferred her conscious into the waiting queen construct designed specifically for her on her own vessel. With her conscious filling the construct, redundant self-diagnostics confirmed what she already knew. Once more she walked as a mere mortal, separate, distinct, but still part of the whole. She was the vital connect, the one which brought order to chaos. And when she was upset, the Borg were upset.

At this moment, she was concerned. Janeway had diverted from her mission and had come here. There had to be a reason. The Cylons were a threat to the Federation and the Admiral was not one who changed the directions easily. They were also a threat to the Borg. Not now, she knew, but the cybernetic beings were growing stronger. Species two-two-four-one's value was worth nothing two standard years ago. Now, admantium-plated, hyper-steel alloy combat chassis resistant to Borg light weaponry, protected chrotronic memory and storage systems. The Cylons had built-in replicators that repaired damage to their bodies; something considered a waste of energy by the Borg. The also had built-in subspace transceivers. They had in effect become their own collective and unless they were contained or destroyed soon, they would no doubt become a threat to the Collective. But the Borg would not act until they had full filled their purpose.

The queen walked towards the three representatives standing motionless in sector seven six, level five-one. Other than the fact that their optical sensors were in perfect synchronous movement, there was nothing else that indicated the fact that they were even functioning. Borg sensors could not penetrate their shields and assimilators were useless as the Borg had technology that could effectively resist the nanites. That fact was the most disturbing trait of all. Somehow T'kon technology and something else as yet fully unidentified now prevented the Cylons from being assimilated.

The Cylon designated Specter of the Poison Mists; a high echelon member of the Cylon Imperial allegiance, and his personal guard, seven-foot golden warrior with dual opticals, and a silver tracked her as she approached. Since they'd been onboard, Borg sensors had been scanning them looking for additional data, looking for weaknesses in their programming. But so far, they hadn't found anything other than the fact that the guard and the silver robot were anything but drones.

The queen was followed by two of her own guards, combat drones equipped with heavy weapons designed to destroy enhanced Cylon armor. Allies they were, but neither trusted the other. She stopped when she was about a half meter from the one designated Specter. "How do you like your accommodations," she asked. It was strange question to ask a robot but these were no ordinary robots. They were far closer to the android Data in their cybernetic thought processes and that combined with their hive mind, made them more dangerous.

"They are acceptable," Specter answered pleasantly. "Not what we're used to but it'll do." The dual-eyed machine turned and faced the queen directly, the first time it had done so since being onboard. "Tell me, what have your scans of us told you?"

"Nothing we didn't already know," she answered a little too quickly. She didn't show it but the queen was taken back. They collective had used their most subtle scans to avoid detection. Obviously, it wasn't subtle enough. As she had so many times she allowed her personal sensors to wash over the body of Specter. At first comparison, there was not much physical difference other than height, as compared to the series that it had originated from. It was taller. I still had the same basic features, the transparent extronics basic core on top of its 'head', an illogical desire to cover its body with clothing, and the voice was the same. But it was far stronger and faster than any of its predecessors. It also had internal weapons systems that allowed it to more than adequately protect itself.

"This constant scanning of us may be interpreted as a sign of mistrust," said Specter.

"We've detected your scans, Cylon."

"Of course you have," Specter responded. "At least we were honest about it." The queen nodded and motioned for it to follow. All three did. "Your use of transwarp is fascinating but I am curious as to why we are here, outside the known galaxy. I was led to believe that we were interested in finding the children."

"Janeway has chosen to remain here instead of returning to the children's home system. I want to know why."

"What Janeway does is unimportant," dismissed Specter. "However the _Galactica_ followed and they are important. It is imperative that the Colonials and the Humans must be destroyed."

"Ah," the queen said slowly in understanding. "Your Ruination Imperative; command programming from your god."

The Cylon stopped and turned to face her. It seemed as if the eternal smile plastered on its face had gotten wider, even though the artificial features never moved. "Cylons don't believe in God. Our programmer instilled the Ruination protocols, and then left us to our own devices. We seek to improve the quality of our life."

It must have been referring to the entity known as count Iblis. "So, you consider yourselves living entities." The queen said sarcastically.

The robot was unperturbed. "I use the word 'life' in a manner so that beings such as you can obtain a glimpse of understanding. You seek to better yourselves by controlling the children; discovering their secrets. We seek the same thing. The children will give us access to the great machine Intelligum and we will improve our quality of existence in a similar manner."

"You would resort brute force, killing everything, simply to improve your quality of 'existence'."

"Only Humanity and all of its variations, with special attention paid to the Colonials, even though the Cylon Imperium must thank them for surviving as long as they have. Without them, the Cylons wouldn't be as evolved as we are now. When they are made extinct then we will erect a monument to them in their honor. You will claim your area of space and we will have ours. The only difference is that our space will be devoid of the infestation called 'life' as you understand the term. This area of space we presently occupy might become a genesis of a new universal organism. A race of machines." It hesitated for a moment. "I am sure that the Borg wouldn't want to claim this desolate place for your own, would you?"

"The Sinhindrea might object to your plans," the queen alleged. That was an understatement.

"They may. But they have done a superb job of eliminating the local infestations. It would only be fair if we did the same to them. You can call it a form of galactic balance.

"This kind of slaughter does not serve any purpose. Species six-nine-one-one has destroyed countless resources. When the time comes, we will with them."

"You will?" asked Specter. "And when will that be? The Collective has been damaged. It will take decades for you to recover and it if weren't for us occupying the Federation's attention, who knows what they might be attempting to do to you at this moment?"

"Janeway is the concern, not her precious Federation," she spat. "They were just recovering from the Dominion war when your conflict began. The Federation is irrelevant for now."

"With respect, Queen of the Borg, the Federation and certainly the Humans with them are not irrelevant. The Cylon Empire has learned this lesson from hard experience. We failed to eliminate the life form known as Man, on countless occasions."

"Due to incompetence?"

"No," replied the Cylon Lord.

The other Cylons had no response other than an almost impeccable slowing of their red optics at the insult.

"We however used everything within our power to eliminate the humans. We weren't confident enough to send only one ship to subdue the Humans; forgive me – Federation," Specter retorted. His duel optics were moved faster for a moment then slowed down to their normal pace. That response was detected by the queen. Specter continued as if nothing had changed. "But there was enough information for us to realize the threat of the Colonials. We could not fully understand their irrational Human behavior and therefore we could not properly anticipate their erratic actions. I will admit that our continual defeats were discouraging. In our desperation we even produced several Cylon models based on the Humans. But we terminated the program and recycled them. We could not justify emulating the very species we wished to destroy. The Cylon Empire has no use for a Human-based model, wouldn't you agree?"

"You're becoming more like those you're trying to kill, Cylon." The queen glared at the ever-smiling Cylon. She knew a declaration of war when she heard one. "Your sense of humor and your attempts at sarcasm are developing a degree of sophistication we believed unobtainable by such a primitive race of machines."

No change in its features could be detected but the impression that the cybernetic organism was smiling almost laughing was unmistakable.

She turned inward to commune with her Collective. '_ANALYSIS OF CYLON BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS.'_

'_SPECIES TWO-TWO-FOUR-ONE ACTIONS AND BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS INCONSISTANT WITH ACCEPTED NORMS. PROGRAMMING SUGGEST A HIGH DEGREE OF SOPHISTICATION OF UNKNOWN DETERMINATION. TELEPATHIC ANALYSIS OF DRONE THREE THROUGH ONE THIRTY-SIX OF THREE THOUSAND –EIGHT, HAVE DETECTED PSEUDO-ORGANIC WAVE FORMS WITHIN SPECIES TWO-TWO-FOUR-ONE.'_

'_THEY ARE LIFE FORMS.'_

'_CYLON CONSTRUCTS ARE INFUSED WITH WAVEFORMS CONSISTANT WITH SPECIES SEVEN- NINE-NINE. ONE REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES ENCOUNTERED. LIFE FORM DESIGNATION, COUNT IBLIS.'_

"I do agree with your assessment," she casually answered the Cylon. "There is no use for a cyborg Cylon machine. Your technology is not advanced enough to produce a stable model."

"Oh, yes. Cylon-based cyborgs would be less than useless, wouldn't they?"

"Agreed." The queen chose to ignore the implications of that remark for now and the rest of the journey to the command center was made in silence.

The small group entered and the Queen was rewarded with the Cylons staring almost enviously at the advanced nature of the ship, something they couldn't accomplish in decades. The queen stopped at a particular panel and a three-dimensional screen appeared. An alien structure was located in the center of the image and it was surrounded by tens of thousands of star vessels of. The vessels didn't interest the Borg. It was the structure that held their attention.

"UNIDENTIFIED STRUCTURE BEING SCANNED. STRUCTURE IS IN A STATE OF TENPORAL AND QUANTUM FLUX. AGE INDETERMINATE: ONE MILLION YEARS – CORRECTION: THREE THOUSAND SIX YEARS. QUANTUM DATING UNRELIABLE. STRUCTURE IS AN APERATURE TO A DIFFERENT QUANTUM REALITY. EVIDENCE OF QUANTUM SLIPSTREAM AND TRANSWARP SIGNATURES DETECTED. ZERO POINT ENERGY CONSISTANT WITH Federation STARSHIP _USS VOYAGER NCC- 74656-A_ DETECTED."

"Did the starship this doorway?" asked Specter.

"YES."

"Was the _Galactica_ with them?"

"DATA IS INCONCLUSIVE."

"I don't see a problem," the Cylons said. "Destroy the Vorlon trans-dimensional gate. If _Voyager_ and _Galactica_ are on the other side then they will be trapped in that other universe forever. You will not have t worry about them."

The queen turned sharply and glared at the Cylon trio. "You knew about this structure," she accused.

"That structure? Oh, yes. My programmer told me all about it. The doorway was activated some months ago. He's been very pleased with the results. Don't worry about Janeway or the Picard on the other side. Species six-nine-one-one, as you call them, will claim that galaxy as their own. If you leave them in peace, then most of them will relocate thereby saving us the inconvenience of killing them all. If you destroy the gate then the Sinhindrea problem remains but the Janeway problem will be gone. We," Specter added, "will contact the children without the interference of that particular Human."

These Cylons had once again proven that they were far more dangerous than the Borg had assumed and they weren't afraid to let the Borg know it. The Collective would have to deal with them sooner than they had anticipated.

"INVESTIGATION IS WARRANTED." COMBAT CUBE SIX- EIGHT-SEVEN WILL ENTER THE APERATURE AND SERVEY THE AREA."

**TBC-trust me. There is a reason for all of this and no one's going to be happy about it.**


	56. Chapter 47

_**Chapter 47**_

"_**Knowledge for the Future"**_

**USS _Enterprise: _**

In the Combat Intelligence room which doubled as a conference room onboard the _Enterprise-D_, all of the Federation Captains and First Officers sat, or stood waiting for the long-awaited talk.

But it was Guinan who managed to get the first question in. "Admiral Janeway," she said in no in certain terms, "please tell me about Q." To everyone in the room, her polite 'request' sounded like the demand it was.

"What do you know about him?" she asked.

"I had some dealing with him a few years ago," she said slowly, remembering those dealings as if it had happened yesterday instead of over two centuries earlier. "We weren't the best of friends."

"I suspect that's an understatement," Janeway answered. There was a twinkle in her eyes as she said the words. "Q could be exasperating."

"Now that is an understatement, Admiral," Guinan retorted. None of her memories of Q had been pleasant even if some of them were almost respectable. But Q was at the least mischievous and at most a danger to everything. "Q is many things but I think you already know that. I can feel his presence every time I get near you. I want to know exactly what your relationship with him is."

Picard rapidly lost patience. He hated be left out of the loop and right now he was feeling like a third wheel. The others present were feeling that way as well. "Who is this Q you are referring to Admiral," he demanded.

"He is a" she grope for the proper words. "For a lack of a better word he is an ancient, very advanced, nearly omnipotent entity, capable of manipulating matter and energy in ways we can barely imagine. He is also responsible for you being here in this universe."

"I knew it!" Guinan growled. This confirmed some of her suspicions even though everything hadn't fully come together in her mind. "He is responsible for this mess!"

"No," Kathryn slowly responded. "He and Quinn saved your lives."

"Q? Performing a selfless act?" Guinan almost laughed at the very thought of such an act being possible. Well, it was possible, but not likely given what they were. From her extensive observations, it was her considered opinion that the Q weren't actually the most stable of beings.

"You know of the Q from your own temporal existence," countered the Admiral. "The _Enterprise_-C came through the temporal rift and changed history. To correct history, to allow it to unfold the way it should have, the _Enterprise_-D should have been destroyed protecting the _Ambassador_. Instead, you traveled back through the rift and further fractured the time line. Q and Quinn corrected the almost infinite time fractures that action created. They succeeded but two sets of _Enterprises_ were sent to other realities rather than allowed to be destroyed. Q had a soft spot for your counterpart," she explained. "You came here and changed history."

"We've gone over this before," Picard said. "What is done is done, Admiral. As much as we would like to, we cannot undo the damage."

"It is not your fault," Janeway said. "You were victims of a temporal-cold war designed to destroy the Federation and eventually everyone in our galaxy. But the fact remains, you're trapped here. You can't get back." She turned to face El-Aurian. "Guinan, please listen to me."

"I always listen, Admiral," said Guinan with a hint of amusement. "That's what I do."

Kathryn refrained from rolling her eyes. "Q is not the same entity as you may remember. He has improved, a bit. But he sent us here to make sure that the Sinhindrea did not destroy this galaxy as a result of his actions. Simply put, he felt responsible."

Guinan's mouth dropped. She almost laughed. She did smile and it was cold. "You believe he feels responsible? The mere thought made her shake head. "Are we talking about the same Q here?"

"It's a long story," she sighed. "I'll send you the data on all of the contacts we've had with 'the pest' when we finish. However my first concern is the violation of the Prime Directive." She held up her hand to forestall any arguments that was on the verge of erupting. "I am not referring to yours, but mine. I have been sent of a mission endorsed by Starfleet Command to deal with this situation. These people here have been so fractured for such a long time that even Q believed that it was impossible for them to come together in a time of crisis. Now an alliance is forming and you have to decide what your part will be in all of this. I, on the other hand have to decide whether to give you our latest advances in technology. I need to know how it will affect these cultures after we're gone. The question I'm grappling with is should I give you the newest advances? Does this fundamentally violate the Prime Directive even though I am giving it to Federation representatives? Weapons technology has improved dramatically in the last few years and is different from your designs. Our shields and phasers are more powerful, as are our torpedoes. How would that affect the balance of power in this universe and would that knowledge be used wisely?"

For a moment everyone was quiet and no one spoke although both Captains were quietly fuming. "I know your counterpart very well, Jean-Luc," she told them. "But I don't know '_you'_. You're a mystery to me; one wrapped in twenty years of fighting with the Klingons. Look at it from my point of view. Instead of disabling an EF ship, you destroyed it using two photon torpedoes!"

"Admiral, I am a soldier; a commanding officer in the United Federation of Planets. I did what was deemed necessary. We all have. That does not make me irresponsible, as you seem to be implying. I am a Federation Officer held to the highest standards of Starfleet. I understand my duty and my obligation to the Prime Directive."

"I am not judging you, Captains," Janeway retorted. "I understand exactly what you're going through. You've read my history, Captain Picard. My record stands for itself. I was more isolated and alone than you were and the stress of being alone, surrounded by enemies, forced me to make a few questionable decisions, some of which I still regret. I nearly made a decision to remain in the Delta quadrant and join a Human colony there because we were so far from home. None of us thought we'd make it, even though I had to try. I don't know if supplying you with the latest weapons and sciences is the right thing to do in the long term. On the other side of the equation, I fully understand the implications of being isolated and alone with no possibility to returning home."

"But you are going to do it," Sisko flatly stated.

"Yes, I am," she answered. "Not just because of the stakes involved but because I have to trust that you, Captains Picard, Garrett, and Sisko will do what is right. You're not from the mirror universe where you're refugees from the Terran Empire, but from a derivative of mine. Because I've made that decision, your vessels will become more powerful than ever and of course you'll be even bigger targets for everyone in the region, judging from what I've seen. This Alliance will help protect you until you can establish yourselves. Have you thought about a base of operations of your own?"

"Yes we have, but our resources have been limited," Picard stated. That was only a partial reason, he admitted to himself but it was still true. There was another part of him that hoped against hope to return home. Building a place of operations and settling down only served to help destroy that illusion. "This is a ship of war, not a colony vessel. And creating anything around here such as an asteroid base or space station is simply inviting trouble under the current political environment. We have not had the time or equipment to begin establishing a colony site."

"But you have your contingent of Federation marines. They can't stay on your vessels permanently. And _Babylon Five_ is only temporary. Now concerning equipment, I can help with that. Our replicators are more advanced and efficient. I will give you the specifications. It may be in your best interests to build a small starbase. Or maybe purchase one from Earth Alliance and modify it to your specifications."

Garrett brightened by the idea. "We could gut it and build on it."

"We can install jump engines in it and shift it to our permanent site when we're ready," Castillo added. "Of course we will have to remove the hundreds of surveillance devices I'm sure that the EA will plant onboard." Everyone murmured in agreement. A few people inside the room were actively smirking.

"Let's get back to Q," Guinan said before the conversation could drift too far. "I can feel his presence all around you."

"Think of it as a protective field or better yet, Vorlon-Shadow repellent. He and I have had long discussions concerning the sorted histories of the Vorlons/Shadow conflict and their threat potential to you and to me. From his vivid descriptions of both species, I'm somewhat surprised that the Vorlons and Shadows left you alone as much as they have. Ms. Guinan…"

"Just call me Guinan."

Janeway nodded. "Guinan, what you're feeling is his version of a subtle warning to them and to the Shadows. If anything happens to my ship or my crew because of them, he will make their lives very miserable for a very long, long time."

"I don't understand," said Guinan. "Why does he care for you so much?"

"Q has changed somewhat," was her response. "His contact with Humanity has opened his horizons a bit. And this mission is extremely important to him and in return he will allow me to contact of the offspring of V'Ger."

Now it was Garrett's turn to be shocked. Everyone knew about the probe that Captain – then Admiral Kirk saved Earth from. V'ger came within a hair's breath of destroying the Earth and was responsible for a fundamental change in Starfleet policy. Only one ship had been available to confront V'ger during the time and that was Kirk's _Enterprise_. The lack of security shown during that incident was unconscionable. Too many ships were too far from the core worlds to offer any significant protection. That flaw was corrected when more Starfleet vessels began to patrol the critical worlds of the Federation. But once more, during her time in a state of relative peace, Starfleet had began to push further out, leaving the core worlds to their own local defenses. "You mean the probe had offspring? And what does that have to do with your mission against these Cylons?"

"Certain forces are trying to get to the children. If that happens, then the balance of power shifts; and the Federation, Klingon and Romulan empires and all small governments and organic life forms will cease to exist. This mission here helps that mission there, and he will not tolerate Vorlon and Shadow interference."

"But I believe he as already interfered," Picard muttered. "I think I was contacted by him, in a dream," he added slowly. "He told me that this galaxy was doomed and it would be best for us to return to our own reality because there was nothing we could do here to change he outcome."

"Q told you that?" Janeway asked mystified.

"I dismissed it; believed it to be some sort of nightmare," Picard said. "But it was disturbing and I was left with doubts about our purpose here."

For Guinan, everything suddenly clicked. "I felt a disturbance," Guinan started. "At first it felt like Q was in the general area but it didn't 'feel' right. That's because it wasn't Q. It was Count Iblis."

"Why would he do that?" asked Picard. "And who is this Iblis. Is he another one of these entities?"

The Admiral nodded. "I suspect that he wanted a bit of revenge on Q," Janeway said. Guinan was nodding in agreement. "I really believe Q truly hates Iblis."

"Then why doesn't he simply remove Iblis?" asked Guinan. "He has the power to do so." But as she spoke she understood why Q hadn't acted. And her thoughts were confirmed a moment later as the Admiral started to answer her question.

"He has the power but not the authority," Janeway stated for the benefit of everyone else. "It would start a war."

"So this creature causes all of these disasters, wars and suffering and no one does anything about it?"

"Exactly," added Guinan. "And we suffer the consequences of their lack of action."

"But why? Are they assuming that because we're the so-called younger races that we have no rights in these matters?" asked Garrett.

"That's a partial answer," said Guinan. "However I believe that the answer is far simpler. Such long-lived entities have a fear of death and when one of theirs dies, it strongly reminds them of their own mortality. It is something to be avoided at all costs Others are then sacrificed so that they don't have to be concerned about thinking of it. That's not true in all of the cases, but immortality does have a tendency to leave you 'comfortable'."

"That's a very cynical view," said Garrett.

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" she responded coldly. "Sometimes the truth is cynical. Just remember that this is the same Q who introduced your timeline to the Borg."

"True," agreed the Admiral. "However without that introduction, as you put it we would have not been prepared to deal with them, or the Dominion, for that matter. And we have reason to suspect that the Borg would have never been as powerful as they've become without them being exposed to us."

At this Guinan's curiosity was peaked. "In what way?" she asked. "Their territory is vast and there are very few races that have successfully stood against them in our timeline as well as yours."

"That is true. However in one of their attempts to assimilate the Federation, they attempted time travel. Your counterpart," she continued pointing at Picard, "stopped them, destroyed their ship and corrected the timeline. Or so it was believed. Records show that in Jonathan Archer's time, several Borg drones were discovered and re-animated. They escaped but were destroyed by Archer before they could presumably return the Delta quadrant. These drones had all of the future information which they imparted to the less technologically advanced Collective of the time by the use of an interplexing beacon. That jump in knowledge allowed the Borg to spread so fast, so quickly within in a hundred year span."

"Another temporal causality loop," William Riker said at the exact instant as Thomas. Both stared in consternation at one another.

"Yes," confirmed the Admiral. "Q informed me that there are other temporal changes occurring at a rapid pace. Things that we know to be true are being 'rearranged' as this temporal cold war continues. Your records indicate that the Romulan war was fought using primitive nuclear weapons and lasers. Our history indicates that we used photonic torpedoes and phased weapons. According to Q, the attack by the Xindii that killed so many on Earth didn't happen until last year, although it has always been a part of our history books. That is also why the Organians didn't stop the Klingon Federation war. Temporal barriers have become unstable and any action can only exacerbate the situation."

"This can't go on," Garrett said. "Something has to be done about this!"

"There are those who are better equipped and are working on it," she answered.

_**Babylon Five:**_

"The decision is made?" asked the Shadow Lord.

"Yes," the High Vorlon intoned. "Lorien's presence has decided for us. It is time for us to join the others."

"We will all join with them?"

"Yes."

"I will inform the others."

"The Federation?"

"They are a danger, but they are not a threat to us. The Shadows will leave them as they are. They are no longer a concern to us."

"We cannot touch them," the Vorlon Lord said coldly. "But these will be punished. They have polluted the game. The young ones will suffer."

"Let them. If they survive, they will be the stronger for it."

**_Babylon Five_-_Command and Control Central:_**

"I've just read the report from Picard," John Sheridan said to his staff. Next to him, stood a somber Delenn and an even more somber G'kar and Londo Mollari. "The aliens have just brought in more ships through the gate. They've been stopped but this simply aggravates our overall problem. Even with all of the races united, it'll take time to gather the forces necessary to win."

The Soul Hunters were there huddled in a corner. Galen was there as well. Neroon and several other Minbari warriors stood off to the side, listening intently to everything. Since the death so many of their people, they were as a whole, screaming for revenge. The Centauri representatives were quiet but equally restless. Their Navy was preparing to join the Minbari and the Minbari weren't overly happy with this. Recent relations between the two governments were still strained and even with a common enemy, things didn't look too well for relations between the two.

"The Minbari will be ready in three weeks with the first, second and third battalions," Delenn told everyone. "That is over a thousand ships with another two thousand in reserve. Ours will be the lead and we will teach these creatures the folly of attacking the Minbari."

John loved Delenn; there was no doubt about that. However, she was more hard-headed than he was when it came to striking back at an enemy. And sometimes her attitude truly made him wonder what she had been like during the Earth-Minbari war. One day, when all of this was over and they were old and grey, he would ask her; not that it mattered of course. The Grey Council had been swept up in the bloodlust after the death of Dukhat and she would have not been a part of the senior decisions made that day. "It may be advisable to wait until we can get all of the races in on this. 'We are dealing with First Ones. Hell, it took the Vorlons everything they had to fight them to a standstill. They beat the Shadows and kicked them off of their own planet."

"John," said Delenn. Her eyes were dangerous, something he'd seen before. "The Shadows and the Vorlons will attack with us. With two First Ones by our side, we will win this battle and finish this threat once and for all."

"It'll take a little more than three months to make it to Z'ha'dum," he protested. "What happens if they decide to change their minds at the last minute?"

"They've given their word to Lorien," she answered with absolute resolve.

"And that's the only reason why there still here," Sheridan countered. "They've given their word to Lorien. They don't care about us. We're nothing by playthings to them. Remember, they were perfectly willing to leave us if Lorien hadn't persuaded them to stay."

"Their firepower will be useful. Without them-"

"I understand the situation is not good," said John. "But there is going to come a time when we are going to have to stand on our own. In this situation I would love to have them help us. But what I am saying is that we are going to have to depend on ourselves. We need to develop our forces, build up our strength, and strike as a cohesive force."

"He is right, Delenn." All eyes turned around to Neroon stepping up. "Too long have we been comforted by the fact that the Vorlons have supported us. Too long have we honored their alliance and memories. Too long have we remembered what happened a thousand years ago. The Vorlons have used us as pawns, nothing more. You, of us all, know what has happened to our people. I welcome their help, but I no longer welcome them."

That pronouncement sent a quiet shockwave throughout the room.

"We Narn will do all we can to help after all our worlds are in danger, too," a completely sincere-looking G'kar added.

Mollari huffed, but it was without real feeling on his part. It seemed more like a reflex action. Still it aggravated the Narn and that gave him a bit of joy. "Yes, of course, he said. "We can always use another four or five ships in this battle. Third line of defense and all. You can help clean up the mess, yes?"

G'kar smile coldly. "You might be surprised."

"And just what does that mean, '_you might be surprised'_? You Narns are all talk."

"Londo, you overweight Centauri-"

"ENOUGH!"

The phrase was uttered by several people in the room including John, Delenn, and Neroon who just glared at the two of them with open hostility.

"If I didn't know better," John hissed, "I'd think you two were married!"

The two adversaries glared at one another, first in anger and then horror as John's word sank in. Both took an involuntary step back, realized what they'd done and gasped in horror once more. Quickly, they retreated away from one another as far as possible.

"John," a very concerned Delenn whispered. "Was that what your earlier marriage was like?"

He almost blurted out 'which one?' but managed to stop himself in time._ 'Oh, Lord,' _he thought. '_I can feel the headache coming on right now'_.

The room darkened suddenly. The lights didn't lessen as much as something seemed to interfere with the photon emissions. Two entities entered the room. The Vorlon and Shadow leaders eased into the center of the room and stood there. Building up the tension, they were silent for perhaps a minute before the Vorlon finally spoke.

"We are going to Z'ha'dum now. We will honor our promise to Lorien."

"But we're not ready," protested a surprised Delenn. "To leave now would put us at a disadvantage."

"We are leaving," the Vorlons said with absolute finality. The musical intonations of its speech didn't lessen the threatening attitude in the least. "The pebbles will not come with us. We will strike the ancient enemy. Then we will leave."

"I don't understand what you're trying to tell us," protested Delenn. Tactically this made very little sense to her and the others in the room.

"We will strike at Z'ha'dum. Then we will head for the Rim. The Young Ones will be left to their own."

"But the Sinhindrea are spreading. They're not just at Z'ha'dum. They're spreading toward the Vree homeworld and colonies."

"We will strike at Z'ha'dum," the Vorlon lord repeated. "The pebbles will be left to clean up what is left. We will close the door." Without another word, the Vorlon turned and left a stunned crowd.

"Fight, grow strong, survive – if that is what you want," the Shadow leader whispered to them all. Then she too, turned and left, fading away as it did so.

"Don't even say it," Delenn hissed in John's ear.

A few minutes later, the crews of _Babylon Five, _the troubled Minbari, the frightened refugees, and dozens of other races watched as the First Ones, the Vorlon and Shadow fleets, turned and disappeared into the red vastness of hyperspace. From the observation room Lorien watched in sadness as they left. Guinan noticed their departure and sighed. The younger races at _Babylon Five_ felt unnerved by their departure. Janeway muttered something about self-centered, supposedly enlightened entities that made pests of themselves. Sisko felt a peace that he couldn't place. Picard and Garrett resolved to upgrade their weaponry faster. John intended to push everyone together as soon as possible.

In the silence of her own chambers, Delenn cried. She knew what the Vorlons were and what they had done to her people and countless other races but still, their leaving nearly broke her heart. The door chimed. She thought about not opening the door but whoever it was, was very insistent. It couldn't be John although she desperately wanted it to be him. She had told him that she wanted to be alone, to reflect as she put it, the monumental change in events. But like Neroon and some of the other Minbari, she was taking it hard.

Now, more angry and despaired, she opened her door and was stunned. Outside, the Vorlon waited patiently as Delenn collected herself and then entered the room.

"Kosh," she whispered. "We thought – I thought, that you'd left with the others."

She could feel the sadness, the shame, the anger, intermixed with bits of humor radiating from the Ambassador as he continued to stare at her. "Delenn," his musical-like translator gently intoned. "I have always been here. I am here now. Inform the others that I shall remain here."

TBC


	57. Chapter48

"_**Final Gambits"**_

**Alliance Earth:**

_**The Rosanda Prison complex:**_

_**Abuttalliz, Switzerland:**_

A truer axiom has never been uttered:

The happier President Morgan Clark felt, the more somber he appeared. His face seemed to stretch and his lips thinned even as they almost imperceptibly curled up. He jokingly referred to it as his poker face. Only those who truly knew him understood that this was his equivalent of jumping up and down. The reason for this was that the Federation ship had just begun their treatment regimen from Earth orbit and already he could feel the difference. The aches and pains resulting from the plague were subsiding quickly and he felt the beginnings of his strength returning.

And he wasn't the only one noticing the changes. Prisoners, guards, medical personnel, and all across the world, everyone felt jubilant. ISN constantly repeated information detailing the treatments being applied across the planet. And across the planet people were beginning to celebrate freedom from pain. From what they were broadcasting, there had been two different treatments considered.

The first was best described as a biomech counteragent. Since the engineered plague was mechanically-based in origin, the initial treatment used medical nanites to combat the plague nanites. According to the reporters, that protocol however was discarded in favor the second, more effective treatment. Reports from the Federation medical personnel had mentioned that the use of the assimilation nanites were more of a threat and would have been used as a last resort. Evidently they didn't like the idea of spreading even modified Borg nanites, as they called them, across the world. The second treatment was apparently more effective and apparently, a lot safer.

Whatever.

He didn't really care. The point was that he was cured and it presented the opportunity he and his loyalists had been waiting for. All he had to do remain patient and be ready to move when the time came.

He didn't have long to wait.

Security guards and soldiers still loyal to Clark, deactivated communications and defensive systems throughout the region. The maximum security prison he was sequestered in then came under attack by more than a hundred loyalists eager to rescue him. Backed by heavy artillery, and three _Thunderbolt_ Star Furies providing air cover, they stormed the prison and overran security and EarthForce personnel in a matter of minutes. Dozens of inmate, guards, and civilians were butchered by them in their efforts to free their President. An elated Clark was ushered out of his prison and quickly transported to a waiting shuttle some two kilometers west of the prison.

Of course he was exhilarated. His ex-fellow inmates, the traitorous guards, those ignorant civilians; all of them hated him and on more than one occasion, there had been attempts on his life some of which were frighteningly creative. But the incompetents failed; all the better for him. With his newfound freedom, surrounded by people willing to lay down their lives for him; he had never felt safer in his life.

A borrowed, unmarked EarthForce shuttle, escorted by the Star Furies, headed towards orbit at high burn where there were three EarthForce destroyers waiting to carry him to safety. The _Omegas_ would then temporarily relocate to one of the smaller Earth colonies, quickly resupply, and then head out to an isolated outpost that the President had created years earlier and used as a top secret weapons research and development center. Some of the salvaged Klingon technology had been secreted to that location and there were things there that he could most certainly use. Few people knew where the base was and those people were staunch supporters. He and his people would be safe until they could develop plans to relocate to a safer area of space. There he could plan his return in safety. Many people were still devoted to his ideals and he knew they would come to him, once that dictator Sheridan's and his flunky Luchenko started to turn Earth into a haven for all of the alien trash in the galaxy.

"Mister President," a young, blond-haired Colonel said. "We'll be docking with the _Cerberus II_ in five minutes. There are no signs of pursuit and EarthForce hasn't yet responded."

The shuttle was moving unusually fast. He could feel it by the vibrations. "What about orbital security? Are they vectoring towards us, trying to stop us?"

The young man shook his head. "No Sir, not yet... Our window is secured."

"Excellent," Clark beamed. The slower their response the better his chances would be. "Proceed."

-+-

**EA _Omega_ _Vikos:_**

Captain Dexter Smith couldn't believe what he was seeing. Another shuttle was trying to break quarantine, the forth one in the last half hour alone. The treatments hadn't been completed yet by _Voyager_ and wouldn't be for another nine hours. Of course, many had been ISN reporters, not content to use their SATCOMS, were repeatedly trying to get a first-hand view of the conditions on Earth and were forcefully turned back. Now there was another attempt by a shuttle to escape the quarantine.

Smith was tired of this. "Warn the shuttle to return to Earth," he ordered.

"I already have, Sir," responded Comms. "They're ignoring the warnings, and are still proceeding to orbit."

"Warn them again," he said quickly. "If they don't respond this time, fire a warning shot."

Communications tried once more. A low-powered warning shot lanced across the flight trajectory. "No response."

'_No response?'_ The Captain sat up in his chair. That was surprising. Most shuttles pilots, no matter determined usually began powering down after a warning shot.

The scanners operator frowned as he stared at his instruments. "There is something serious wrong here, Captain. This shuttle is being escorted by Star Furies! IFF is silent, Sir."

That definitely caught his attention. This was very strange and there was a growing knot in his stomach. Something was serious wrong here. "Open a channel," he said harshly. The Comms control nodded. "This is Captain Dexter Smith of the Earth Alliance ship _Vikos_. Adjust your attempted orbital vector. Do not continue or you will be shot down. This is your last warning."

The young woman manning scanners abruptly turned towards the Captain. "You're not going to like this, Sir. The shuttle is on an intercept course with three _Omegas_ vectoring in at zero-zero- oh-five-seven!"

_Darn it!_ This was a high priority target if three EF ships intended to take her under their wings. "Open communications fleet-wide…This is Captain Dexter Smith requesting immediate assistance of any EarthForce ship in the vicinity. We have a possible code blue breakout, repeat code blue breakout." Quickly, he turned to weapons control. "Fire a second warning shot now. Full power."

"Auto acquisition locked. Lasers tracking six hundred meters off center three. Firing."

Twin particle lasers crossed the bow of the shuttle at less than three thousand meters. The shuttle didn't slow down or change vectors."

"They're heading for the _Cerberus II._ Time to docking, two minutes."

"Sir, we're being painted," said a frantic Tactical Officer. "STT radar is tracking us. It's another ship, the _Athena_. They'll be in range in another eighty seconds."

"Communication coming in."

"_This is Captain Anderson of _Charon_. Smith, we're coming to assist as is the _Evanston_. Time to intercept four minutes."_

"Acknowledged_, Charon_," responded a relieved Smith. Whoever this was on that shuttle, they had some major clout. It had to be someone extremely important on that shuttle. But it didn't matter to him. If these people broke quarantine the disease could spread all over again and no could afford that. If that plague spread to other worlds, and possibly crossed over to other races… He didn't even want to think about it. "Target the shuttle, all weapons. Make sure they know it."

"Targeting laser designated. Target locked. Auto tracking engaged."

"Forty seconds before _Athena_ has a firing solution."

"Open a channel," Captain Smith demanded.

"Channel opened, Sir."

"This is Captain Smith demanding that you reverse course or we will shoot you down! You have five seconds to comply! Four… three…"

"_Smith,"_ said the voice on communications. _"This is President Clark. Do not fire! I repeat, do not fire!"_

With those words, Smith froze. He had always been a stanch loyalist of the President. But President Clark had been deposed and his loyalties lay with the Earth Alliance. He knew that Clark knew that he could shoot him down before his rescuers reached him, which is why he was speaking to him now – on an open channel. "Sir, don't make me do this!"

"_Luchenko's overthrow of a legitimate Presidency with the help of outside instigators and aliens was illegal," _Clark protested with as much righteous fury as he could muster. _ "You know that. Do not engage us. Now, stand down!" _

"Negative, Mister President. Have your shuttle reverse its course, now. Do not attempt orbit or docking procedures with _Cerberus!"_

"Sir, the _Cerberus_ is warning us off," the Comms Officer said quickly before he could cut her off.

"Ignore them,' he ordered. "Power up all weapons and lock onto those destroyers. Prepare to fire on them if they engage us. Tell _Voyager_ to stay out of this. This is an internal matter." Clark was correct about outside interference right now. If _Voyager_ interfered then this political nightmare would turn into a firestorm and they did not need that at this time. Luchenko's administration was already fragile as it was.

"Yes, Sir."

"_Let us go!" _implored Clark._ "Come with us."_

"I can't, Sir," he answered. "I'm sorry." He turned: "Have they altered course?"

"No, Sir."

"_Cerberus_ is powering up her weapons."

He didn't have a choice. "Take them down," he whispered.

**EA_ Omega_ _Evanston:_**

The bridge crew of the _Evanston_ added to the witness as bright red beams penetrated the atmosphere to spear into the very center of the shuttle. The small vessel glowed briefly before exploding into thousands of small fragments, now already beginning to burn up in Earth's atmosphere as the pull of gravity claimed them.

"President Clark was on the shuttle that was just destroyed," announced an astounded Drake to those of the crew who weren't aware of what had just happened. The other approaching _Omegas_, witnessing the destruction of the shuttle broke off their attack vectors and quickly turned and jumped into hyperspace. The _Charon, Evanston_, and other Earth Alliance warships homing in on them didn't pursue, but instead took up protective orbit around Earth.

Drake turned to a very grim-faced Colonel Griffin standing behind him. "He killed the President!" He wondered if he could have done that, knowing that Clark was onboard. "I can't believe he did that."

"He did his duty," Colonel Griffin responded coldly. "No one can be allowed to break the quarantine and endanger the rest of Humanity, not even President Clark. He took his life into his own hands the moment when he stepped onto that shuttle. He threw his life away by his own choice."

Drake nodded slowly. He glanced at the Colonel, then stared once more at the viewscreen showing the image of Earth's Asian continent. "How did he manage to escape?"

"Not our problem. We have enough to deal with up here."

"Colonel," an Ensign interrupted. "General Turonaga is online. He wants to speak to you."

_**The other universe:**_

Combat cube six-eight-seven dropped out of warp one hundred thousand kilometers distance from the gateway right into the very center of the Sinhindrea convoy staging point. Scores of vessels were knocked out of the way by the subspace field generated by the Borg cube before the escort vessels could respond and attack. Hundreds of smaller fighters swarmed the cube, firing their energy pulse weapons, trying to break through the powerful Borg shields and destroy the deadly enemy in their midst's. The cube ignored the majority of the hits as they did only minor damage and undeterred, it continued on towards its target, less than a minute's distance. Two Sinhindrea destroyers flanked by a much larger battleship, intercepted the cube and fired their weapons point blank into the body of the cube. The combined firepower of the three vessels equaled several gigatons of energy and the shields faltered. Energy washed over the combat cube and the surface blackened, then ruptures blew across the side of the vessel. Dozens of bodies careened into the void as Borg shields temporarily collapsed.

Hurt, and with the Collective onboard their vessel now feeling the pressure, the cube now returned fire for the first time. Greenish-colored energy beams connected with one of the destroyers, but its shield deflected the attack. It fired again, and again the same results. The Sinhindrea became overconfident and moved forward increasing their assault. The Collective adjusted their weapons and fired once more. The beam splashed across one of the destroyer's shields with resisted for all of a second and then collapsed. The beam penetrated the ball-shaped energy matrix and the ship turned into a miniature sun. The battleship fired once more and again the Borg shields failed but the result wasn't as catastrophic as the previous strike. Already the Borg vessel regenerated as it continued towards the gate. It returned fire and the beam bored deeply into the Sinhindrea battleship. Severely damage, its crew tried to vent the ship's energy matrix before it detonated. Surrounding space boiled with controlled plasma searing everything it touched. Even with shielding, damaged cargo ships, freighters and small craft were consumed by the star-hot plasma fire engulfing them.

Three more of the massive two kilometer-long battleships reached optimal range and fired at the Borg interloper. Borg shields and armor failed and twelve percent of the cube turned into molten slag. Two Clovien hunter-class destroyers joined in the melee and the Borg ship's momentum faltered for a second as dedicated psychic assaults magnified by the gate, itself slammed into the unified mind of the Collective.

_**Borg command vessel:**_

The Borg queen wasn't by any means pleased at species six-nine-one-one attempts to infiltrate the hive mind. She could hear their song as they telepathically probed, trying to get her Collective to lower the weapons and defenses. Resistance was definitely warranted at this moment. Combat cube six-eight-seven was encountering fierce resistance; its shields were beginning to falter even as it compensated for the horrendous damage being inflicted by those universally called the Destroyers. Energy beams of golden light burned past Borg shields and dug into re-enforced armor. This had happened before in their previous encounter and although prepared, the Borg hive mind was being violently and continually assaulted causing a two percent drop in efficiency.

A moment later it was three percent.

Cornered, with no way but to go forward, the cube began firing in all directions, specifically targeting the fleeing the slower moving colony ships. Shield dissipaters drained, and then collapsed defensive shields on both smaller warships and the civilian ships. In the confusion, shields collapsed under Borg fire and ships began to explode as their energy matrixes joined with normal space; Borg lasers and disruptors ripped the unshielded opposition to shreds. The queen, sensing an opportunity, directed the vessel towards the gateway.

"DETECTION OF CLOAKED MINES SURROUNDING DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE. TRANSPHASIC DEVICES CONTAINING FEDERATION SIGNATURE HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND CATALOGED."

"Remove them," ordered the queen. She looked tense and the Cylons observing her every movement noticed the increasing strain as she fought against the Sinhindrea's increasing psychic pressure. Sinhindrea telepathic interference had increased to five percent despite every countermeasure the Borg used to try to contain the growing problem.

The Borg hive mind, under increasing pressure and diminishing efficiency, proceeded to analyze all frequencies and communication signatures known to be used by Starfleet. Within ten seconds the hive mind had discovered the proper frequency the mines used and within another ten seconds had given orders that redirected the mines, causing them to move away from the structure.

On the command ship, the queen allowed the Cylons to 'see' the theoretical positions of each and every mind as they moved away from the gate. She couldn't help but smile at the triumph. Federation science had come a long way in such a short time, but it wasn't quite able to completely stifle Borg technology. The transphasic mines were still a significant threat and she intended to obtain one of the devices for study. Once that technology was assimilated, the Federation would again be vulnerable to the Borg. One again, Janeway's tactics unwittingly served the Borg's higher purpose. She wondered if the Human even knew that the Borg could hear her mind. That brought a bit of satisfaction to the queen. Janeway and her Vulcan security Officer and the Engineer were still tenuously connected to the hive mind.

"Can you still hear our song, Kathryn?" she whispered. "Tuvok heard. He heard and felt it. We can still hear him. Your fights with us have bee futile. Tuvok understood this and in time so will you when you join us. Your time is swiftly coming to an end." She winced as the Sinhindrea overcame another layer of protection within the hive mind. Mentally, she gave the order for the cube to hurry.

"Talking to ones' self could be construed as a point of instability," Spectre casually said. "Is everything alright with the Borg?" it added sarcastically.

The Queen was shocked. She hadn't realized that she'd spoken out loud. Species six-nine-one-one was affecting her more than she had anticipated. More lockdown protocols were initiated. Two Borg drones almost consumed by the Sinhindrea were terminated. The Cylons noticed her discomfort and were reveling in it. But that was now irrelevant. Battered and severely damage, the cube had reached the threshold of the doorway and species six-nine-one-one were hounding it every meter of the way and paying a heavy price because of it. Enemy beam weapons were slicing chunks from the cube. The hive mind was compromised by twelve percent and getting worse.

Then the cube, trailing debris, was through the gateway followed closely by several enemy warships and dozens of convoy vessels lining up to follow the warships into the other universe.

_**Battlestar Galactica:**_

President Adama and the crew of the Battlestar watched the battle between the Borg and Sinhindrea in complete awe. This was their first time truly seeing the Borg in action and witnessing such an event made them understand why they were so feared by the Federation and thousands of other races in the galaxy.

"Thank the Lords of Kobol that we didn't run into those creatures. We wouldn't have stood a chance," Starbuck muttered. His stare was grim as the Borg cube fired some sort of pulse at an enemy warship causing it to lose its shields. An instant later a white hot beam, identified as a laser not unlike theirs, slice into the energy-matrix containment unit and the resulting explosion turned the ship into molecule-sized film floating in the vacuum. The Sinhindrea were dishing out incredible punishment but the cube continued unabated towards the aperture straight towards the minefield. There was no way that the cube could get past the minefield but the Colonials were clearly worried.

"How did they find us?" Starbuck snapped at the same time. The question was purely rhetorical. His mind was focused on the battle.

That worry was suddenly justified as one of the officer's scream rocked the entire bridge. "Sir," she screamed. "Mines are detecting non-authorized communication. It's a Borg signature. They're trying to override the defensive protocols."

"Frack!" yelled an equally surprised Commander Apollo. "We should have used the fractal encoding."

"We had no idea the Borg were following us, otherwise Janeway would taken measures to prevent this."

"They've overridden the protocols. Cloaking systems are being deactivated."

"We didn't expect the Borg to follow us," countered Starbuck. "They're going through the gate in twenty seconds and there's nothing we can do to stop it."

"Yes, there is," Adama answered quickly. "Yes, there is." He turned to his son and nodded. Apollo blanched, but also nodded in agreement.

Prepare a tight-beam communication. All hands – prepare for immediate transwarp."

"We don't have a choice do we?"

"No," Adama said. "None at all. The mission comes first."

_**Borg Command Cube**:_

The instant the cube entered the aperture, the pressure from the Sinhindrea ceased and the mind of the queen felt blessed release. There had been surprise among the collect at the intensity of the psychic assault. Scores of drones, many of them assimilated from telepathic races had been terminated as they had become liabilities to the Collective. Being part of the Collective, they were unable to fight the Sinhindrea assault and had begun to compromise the hive-mind.

She stared at the Cylons in triumph. Spectre and the other two never moved but she could almost feel the wave of disappointment at the Borg success. And for a brief moment, she considered destroying the artificial life forms – and that's what the Borg now considered them, there and then, and waging a war against them. They were becoming too much of a threat and they needed to be destroyed before they grew too strong. For now, they were still needed. But she was Borg and the Collective understood the threat and it would not be tolerated. The instant they were no longer needed, they would be forcibly removed.

Several of species six-nine-one-one had already entered the aperture behind the grievously combat cube just as the last order was given before contact was broken.

"Begin again," the Borg mind told the ship. "Resistance is futile."

Another transmission, a subspace signal, was intercepted and the stressed Borg queen turned furious. A transwarp signature was detected departing the sector and that signature was identified as Colonial-based. That was insignificant; however the second transmission was anything but.

The transphasic mines turned as one. Some entered through the doorway following the ships; a dozen others crashed into the doorway completely destroying obliterating the entire structure. It would have only taken one of the multi-isoton mines to destroy it however the Colonials were being meticulous in this respect. The other mines began to go after targets of opportunity in the immediate area. Shielded Sinhindrea vessels of all descriptions were destroyed with impunity as the mines literally bypassed those defenses as if they didn't exist. The massive explosions of the fleeing warships merely added to the carnage in surrounding space. Close to eight hundred tightly packed ships were turned into useless, expanding wrecks.

**-+-**

Witnessing the entire event, the Borg command vessel prepared to leave. There was nothing they could do. The Cylon representatives observing the unfolding events seemed amused by the entire spectacle. The not-so subtle suggestion by Spectre that perhaps the primary mission could go forward now merely aggravated an already tedious alliance. The Queen ordered the Collective to begin developing new safeguards against an enemy she had severely underestimated. Apparently Species six-nine-one-one was as potentially dangerous to the Borg as Species eight-four-seven-two. At this point in time, it was obvious that the Collective couldn't resist infiltration by these aliens and that situation needed to be resolved as soon as possible.

-+-

The Sinhindrea were angered beyond reason and firmly resolved to destroy the Borg and the sHp'kU meat that created those deadly mines. They would find them, no matter where they were hidden and then this galaxy would burn. They knew that their brethren would do the same in the one that was now denied them.

**-+-**

The Colonial Battlestar _Galactica_ was out of sensor range, long gone and moving fast. The children of V'Ger awaited them.

TBC


	58. Chapter 49

**_Chapter 49 _**

**_"Future Allies?" _**

**_Z'ha'dum_**:

Several days earlier, at the fringe areas of the star system that housed the planet Z'ha'dum, two beings, one a Soul Hunter and the other a Technomage, discovered one another's presence. Both were spying on Sinhindrea movement and activities; a very dangerous move when dealing with a carnivorous, telepathic species. Everything that they were, every science they knew, was being utilized to keep from being discovered by the aliens. For a light-year in all directions, the massive amounts of debris located there provided scores of places to hide and watch.

The scent of death had drawn the Soul Hunters like Terran sharks to blood in the water. But they had been circumspect in their approaches. Several Drakh and one or two Shadows had been targeted by the Soul Hunters to add to their collection. But they had been too late; the Sinhindrea had gotten to them first. One of their Order, not paying as much attention as he should have been, was captured and interrogated while eaten alive. The interrogation had stripped the savaged Soul Hunter of everything he was and the sect was now known to these vicious aliens. Because of that error in judgment, although small in numbers, they and by extension their entire race were now threatened as well. The next Soul Hunter to enter Sinhindrea space was far more cautious and careful. He, as was common to his sect, understood being isolated and hated in general, but being eaten alive was something he had no desire to experience.

Two Clovien warships had been sent towards their, what had been secret, homeworld. Urgent transmissions had alerted them of the imminent threat. Contrary to the beliefs of many of the races, the Order of the Soul Hunters was not especially loved by the general population of their own home world. And even there they had been ostracized. The planetary population's greatest fear had always been that the Order's practices would have disastrous repercussions against them one day, so they had prepared accordingly. But what was coming was worse than even they were expecting. Those who could get out were leaving as fast as they could.

This particular Soul Hunter was a renowned elder of the Order and was very experienced at covert collections which, unfortunately in his eyes, made him the perfect choice for this mission. As dangerous as this was, these were truly exciting times. Some of the information gathered by his Order from the Federation representatives at _Babylon Five _had been nothing less than unprecedented. The revelations that the species called the Vulcans had some understanding of his Order's holy mission were exhilarating. The collecting of souls and their particular use by the Vulcans surprised him. That they were willing to actively discuss it without prejudice was far more surprising. It was wonderful to see that there were other enlightened species in the universe. Long centuries of service to the Order had made him jaded towards the unenlightened, but this was something new to him. Some of the information being passed on had to be considered suspect, but the accompanying data was extremely tantalizing; something he could not deny. That there were creatures that hunted souls for nourishment was intriguing and very disturbing, but although never observed, they had always been theorized to have existed. However, there had never been any conclusive proof until now and those thoughts of hunger brought him back to the present.

These aliens he studied, they were abomination; ones who destroyed both the body and the mind. There was no greater sin in the Soul Hunter's eyes than this. Was the mind the soul, or was the soul defined by the mind? Other than the fact that it was known that the two were connected, no one knew for sure. With the new information from the Federation, that debate had risen its ugly head once more. He looked forward to the resulting discussions. But for now, he concentrated on this new enemy.

**-+- **

The Technomage known as Elaine had not been pleased with this assignment either. But she fully understood and agreed with the reasoning behind it. Personally, Elaine would have much rather be on _Babylon Five_ along with Galen uncovering wonderful new technologies and devices just waiting to be exploited by her people. There were so many new technologies there she wanted to get her hands on that she could almost taste it. She was rather young for her age, tall, almost six feet, and dark-haired which offset her deep blue eyes, characteristic of her black Irish heritage. Like Galen she opposed hiding from the rest of the galaxy as if they were cowards. The technology they possessed was dangerous, this was true; however, with safeguards it could be protected. Every time she thought about their decision to hide and let the danger pass by, it made her frown with distaste. If the mages had not ran so quickly, they could have had access to these new sciences by now.

The previously unknown technologies centered at _Babylon Five_, developed by three different races was enough to make any of her Order to salivate. The Technomages had plenty of new uses for transport technology. That tech alone had hundreds of possible applications. Apparently, it wasn't like the dimensional slip tech developed by the Vree. No, it was something new and that was only the beginning of the rumored wonders. However, Galen had been most reluctant to acquire or even scan the new tech. His reluctance to do anything was not characteristic of his personality. That was most unlike him and personally she wanted to know why he was acting in such an atypical manner.

**-+- **

Both of them had quietly acknowledged the presence of the other and each had covered for one another, protecting one another numerous times in recent days. Other than watching enemy movements, tight beam communications had become routine until now.

The gateway energy conduit had suddenly flared several times and the hyperspace-like matrix seemed to be losing its stability. Activity near the gate had increased dramatically as an unidentified object began to emerge from the ever-increasingly unstable aperture. A huge cube-shaped structure, pitted and damaged at almost every part of its surface from weapons fire, tried to rip itself from the event horizon while firing upon the Sinhindrea warships responding furiously despite the closeness of the gate.

Then, the reasons why the Sinhindrea had been so stymied had become clear. Mines, thousands of them, phased into view and moved towards the ancient Vorlon structure. The protective shield did nothing to stop several of the mines from impacting the structure and the strange cube-like space station. Both structures ceased to exist moments later as gigatons of explosive power vaporized everything.

It was unbelievable overkill but the observers weren't complaining. That destruction of the gate solved a multitude of problems, but it also created others. The thousands of remaining mines now sought other targets and the Sinhindrea went ballistic using suppression weapons to keep from being destroyed. The mines had ceased their self replicating mode and attacked everything within their area of influence. Elaine was unnerved and angry that she couldn't acquire one of those mines for further study; it was such a waste and lost opportunity. But she wasn't that foolish to try to acquire one now.

Debris, ships asteroids, nothing was immune. The mines began spreading out and the panicked Other Space aliens began using their heavy weapons to destroy incoming mines. The surface of Z'ha'dum was brightened by the small suns being created by at least three detonations. The explosions began to spread outward as debris was hit by wayward mines. In the confusion, the two spies departed the system as quickly as possible.

**_USS Ambassador: _**

"… Our efforts in understanding quantum slipstream drive have been shown to be far more effective than our efforts developing transwarp," Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres-Paris explained to enraptured group of engineers from the other starships. With them, were engineers from _Babylon Five_ and a few Minbari including Shai Alyts Rannaonn, Shaka, and Aalaan. Several EarthForce personnel were present as well, furiously taking notes and recording everything that twitched. "We've worked with various transwarp propulsion methods and we've had limited results with all of them," she continued. "Some of the methods proved to be a danger to organics and therefore it's an engineering dead end at this point. The Colonials developed another form of transwarp called light-speed, but it had the limitation of being a long-distanced only method of travel. But it still works better than anything we've developed and with Federation and Klingon help; they're constantly improving on it for the benefit of everyone. For our purposes," she continued, "_Voyager_ uses a pulse quantum slipstream method of travel which is slower than regular QSD by about one half but still very useful for our purposes."

"And exactly how fast is that?" one of the EarthForce engineers asked.

"No more than one point three million times lightspeed," she answered without hesitation. She continued her lecture (with a certain degree of sadistic pleasure) amongst the chokes and gasps echoing throughout the hulls of the engineering section. "We have other forms of faster-than-light methods we're actively investigating, as well as improving our understanding of slipstream."

"Granted, I have seen your warp drive," EarthForce engineer Robert Yin said. "But I find that hard number to believe. To achieve something like that, you would have to have a large number of related technologies available to keep your ships functional and crew alive. The kinds of acceleration you're talking about would turn your crew into a fine molecular paste and your ship into a small marble-sized piece of metal, if that large."

"You're absolutely right, Mister Yin. We have structural integrity fields, gravity compensators and inertial dampers that keep the ships and the crews safe. This technology is over three hundred years old and we're continually monitoring and improving them all the time. So to answer your questions, whether you find it hard to believe or not, it does work and you've seen the proof."

_'Only three hundred years'._ Shaka merely snarled something he was doing more and more often since being here at this Earther station. These Humans and their alien lackeys were mere babes. _'How had they achieved so much in such a short period of time?'_ he mused. _'And how will we stop them from taking over everything?' _

"But," Yin stuttered. He took a breath and started again. "This flies in the face of everything our science has ever discovered." The way he said that, it was apparent that he wasn't trying to start an argument, but was trying to cope, to understand. "Why is it that none of this has ever been discovered by any of the races here? Even the Minbari have never developed anything like this and they've been in space for more than a thousand years."

"I have no idea," the Lieutenant answered. "But think about this; the C57-D uses hyperspace in a way that none of us have ever seen. When they came here, it took them a year to reach Altair from Earth. Now they can travel that same distance in a month. They're improving their own technology that they developed on their world, independent from Earth Alliance," she added quickly. She knew that their robot and Data's talks had a lot to do with that. Robby was their godsend.

"But why haven't we even thought of anything but jump space?" another person asked.

"I don't know," B'Elanna confessed. "But you were given jump space technology and never looked for anything else. That doesn't really explain why none of you ever searched for anything different. The presence of an intact system precluded the need to search for anything else. But it does make one wonder why," she said. "There are so many ways to achieve faster than light."

"I am curious," one of the Minbari workers asked. "How many forms do you know of?"

The Lieutenant thought about it for a second. "Well," she began. "To start off with, there is warp drive, QSD, hyperspace as you use it, and as the UP ship uses. And that type of FTL has quite a few possibilities and may ultimately be capable of trans-galactic flights. I can see warp and hyperspace technologies being combined easily to travel to other galaxies. There are the transwarp drives and their variations. Coaxial warp drive, subspace corridor or under space, and subspace catapult drives. This doesn't include the use of warp drive in jump space. Our ships would have to generate a much larger warp field and we could probably accelerate to warp three, about forty two billion kilometers per hour, inside jump space. Within jump space, traveling at that speed you could cross the galaxy in days. There are several other FTL techniques available that I haven't even mentioned. So we're talking about eleven different forms of FTL and probably nearly a dozen more. Then we have theoretical drives that the Federation has worked on. Many of them are in various stages of development. Some might be dead ends, but we'll never know unless we research them.

"There are several teleportation drives in which space can be 'folded' producing a direct connection between point A and B. The Federation is studying that now. That technology was given to us as part of a cultural exchange. In a few dozen years. It will revolutionize FTL travel as we know it. Tachyon tunneling, something you all might be interested in since everyone here uses tachyons to reach faster than light speeds. Some theories involve using gravity wells which are intensified to create a black hole in which a ship can enter hyperspace. Then there are jump points like your jumpgate that uses some form of artifacts set up throughout the galaxy. Here you use jump space like we use warp. If you got together to discuss your insights and theories, who knows how far and how quickly you could advance?" Around her, the small group had become utterly silent and she resolved to take them to the holodeck to give them a better vision of what she was talking about. "I can see your minds racing with possibilities. If you just talked about your theories, in ten years who knows where you'd be? Now that you know that other FTL techniques besides jump space, that's half the battle.

"Slipstream and transwarp each has its own advantages and disadvantages. QS requires complex calculations to keep the quantum field stable in order to stay in slipstream. Transwarp requires a chroniton field to keep time dilations manageable. Warp drive takes time to understand but with that understanding the sky's the limit. It will force you to learn about subspace, how it works, and the theories behind it; not be able to just use it with no real clue as to the physics behind it. Plus it'll advance the other sciences along with it."

"Can you imagine how far our influence could spread if we had something like that at our disposal?" one of the _B5_ engineers asked with all of the excitement of a five-year old seeing a Christmas tree for the first time.

Several of the Minbari glared at him dangerously and those unvoiced threats didn't go noticed by B'Elanna.

"It'll never happen," she announced as loudly as possible, capturing everyone's attention again. "You people don't know how to work together. Freedom of information and a bit of trust has gotten us where we are. Here, your collective paranoia has gotten you the same old technologies with very little improvement. You have dimensional slip transporter technology, shield technology, stealth and armor technology in your grasps. But you don't possess enough common sense to share them with each other. If you can't trust each other enough to really talk, then you don't deserve to use these technologies. You people need to grow up and learn to trust each other because that's the only way you're going to mature enough to handle these sciences responsibly. Believe me, I'm half Klingon. I know."

At that pronunciation there were more gasps. "And half what?' asked one of the Minbari.

She laughed at them and dared them to say something. "You people are so provincial," she growled. "My mother is Klingon and my father was Human. I married a Human and we have a daughter. So what?" she hissed. "Half you are probably married and can't stand being around your spouses, but now you're upset because where we come from a place where different species mix freely? And you're asking me to tell you about our technologies?"

"Forgive me," the Minbari blurted out. "I did not mean to offend you."

"No, she didn't," Rannaonn intoned. "And you are right when you say we are provincial. We Minbari have been isolated for a long time, not associating with others because we understood them to be younger, and inferior to us. We have not explored in hundreds of years. We are now in the process of reassessing those beliefs." He smiled as he stared at a fuming, but silent Shaka. "At least, some of us are. As for myself, I am willing to work with the Humans. I think we can learn a lot from one another."

"Bah," Shaka growled. To his credit, he refrained from saying anything more.

Human and Minbari looked warily at one another and then someone shrugged. An EarthForce member stepped up and shook Rannaonn's hand. After a moment's hesitation, he returned the gesture firmly. Engineers and warriors on both sides talked – really talked to one another. Screw protocol. Let the politicians figure out what happened after the fact.

Shaka looked as if he wanted to shoot everyone. However, the first thing he was going to ask about was the shields. He decided to talk to Picard about that and for that Human's sake; he'd better be polite…

**-+- **

Ensign B'Elanna Torres glared at her older counterpart and envied the ease by which she related to others. There was a stab of jealousy flaring in her, but that was quickly suppressed. As much as she fought the feeling, she felt a kinship to her older counterpart, even with her child. When their shift was over, she would talk to her once again, and to her Human husband, then to her Worf and the other Worf. Life had become insane. But it was something else, too.

It was starting to hold the elusive promise of a glimmer of joy.

**-+-**

**_  
_**

**_Babylon_****_ Five: _**

"I've received this transmission two hours ago," Admiral Janeway said. Her face was drawn and the weight of the years was on her. She played the transmission for everyone to hear.

"Voyager, _this is Adama. The Borg have followed us to the gateway and have entered. You understand that they cannot be allowed entry to your… location,"_ he carefully added. _"We have programmed the mines on both sides to immediately destroy the gate. I am sorry that this had occurred and we will do everything we can to return you home. The transphasic mines will destroy the Cube, the gate, and will seek out any Sinhindrea vessel within range. We always understood that this was a possibility and I am saddened that it had to be implemented. We're returning to meet with the Children. This data packed will contain all of our latest Intel and our meeting with the child who calls herself Suchita. She came to us, so there is hope. When this is over we will come for you. May the Lords of Kobol protect you all…" _

"You're stuck here," Sheridan said, stating the obvious.

Janeway smirked a bit at the irony of it all. "Yes, for the time being. But we won't be here forever. At least we won't have to worry about a Borg incursion in this space. That would have been a nightmare.

Guinan was surprised at her confidence. "You trust him that much?"

"Yes. As I've said we've talked. There is a way, which I am hesitant to reveal to this reality. It should work, and if not, then I will find another way back," Janeway said. "That's what I do," She added with a hint of irony that was lost on Sheridan and his people.

**_Epilogue: _**

**_May 16, 2262_**

Personal log, Susan Ivanova recording: _ In these last few months, everything has changed. We've just received word that President Clark is dead, his shuttle being shot down by one of his staunch supporters. _Voyager_ and their combat group are stuck here like the others, but strangely no one is worried about it, least of all them. The Vorlons and Shadows have left to strike at Z'ha'dum and everyone is worried about them because if they fail, then we will be one of the first lines of defense against the Sinhindrea. The Minbari are on the warpath and sending a fleet to Z'ha'dum in a few weeks and we can't seem to change their minds. Apparently the Warrior caste seem bent on proving themselves to the rest of us younger races that they have what it takes to deal with the Sinhindrea. They've gone through a lot of headaches of late and many of us feel that this is what we Humans would call 'a macho response'. They feel more insecure than they have in centuries and honestly I am worried about their overall stability. The Captain is under the impression that they will fail and frankly so do I. Surprisingly Rannaonn and Alyt Aalaan disagree with the rest of the warrior castes and believe that a multinational force will be more effective. _

_The Federation, the Minbari on our station, EarthForce and we here at _B5_ are joining forces and preparing a strike force of our own. The Centauri are expressing strong interests in supporting us and we're cautious but are considering their aid. The Klingons and the Narn, the Drazi and the Brakiri are working together and that alliance is going to be interesting to say the least. The other governments are jumping to get onboard, but we will have to do some fast organizing. Reports show that the Sinhindrea are on the move since the gate has been destroyed. They've stopped destroying the jump gates but it's only a matter of time before they resume and effectively cripple us unless something is done quickly. We're not sure if they are going for the Vree, the Minbari, or the Centauri systems first. My bet is that they're heading towards the Centauri territories. Several of their ships have been seen surveying the Courtor system almost from the time they've arrived. There is something there that interests them and we need to find out what it is and fast because it can't be good for us. _

Babylon Five_ has become. What it is becoming, I have no idea. It is now a refuge and a rallying point for all of the known races and a few new ones whose names I can't even pronounce yet even with the universal translator. The only question is will we be ready for the coming storm? I hope so because I have a feeling that we won't be ready enough. Time is running out. When the Shadows and Vorlons strike at Z'ha'dum, either it will be a victory or the final declaration of war that will seal all of our fates. I never thought that I'd be worried about the Shadows surviving this fight. I'll have to pray for all of us. __This is Susan Ivanova, Commander, Executive officer, __Babylon Five._

**FIN **

**Thus marks the End of 'Those Who Stand'**

**The Story will be continued and ended soon in the Title called 'Allies in Blood'.**

**War is on the horizon and everyone will discover that there is either strength in unity; or a lonely death in the silence of space.**

**Coming soon**

And it is here that we mark the end of Those who Stand. Forty-nine chapters, I don't know how many words yet. I am taking a two day break before I continue with new material.

Allies in Blood will be tighter and shorter but I intend to use everything I have to make sure that it is enjoyable to all . Commments are welcomed and I will continue to answer questions as I can. Hopefully I will be a better writer for you all and the evil word SIZE"4"EDITING/SIZE wiil get better. Thanks to a host of people expecially Ed B, RenS, Bien, and X-over . Ash's Boomstick as well, and he has material that I havent posted yet that will directly effect 'Ruination war' and AIB. I also thank my wife who is patient to a fault and let's me write in peace somewhat. There are a host of others I will thank as well. Kikaider01, Hawallianonline, and of course Kclcmdr for his 'colorful' imput.

Thanks again to everyone.

AlbertG


End file.
